Golfing Legend John Daly Twitters Up a Storm

It was getting late in my neck of the woods. I checked my email one last time to see if there were any alligators lurking there, needing attention before I hit the hay.
Nothing too urgent, so time to put my laptop to bed.

Little did I realize that I was about to get the lesson of my life from golfing legend and 1991 US PGA and 1995 Open Champion, John Daly. Not a golf lesson - but a lesson in the masterful use of social media. Twitter in particular.

I glanced over to TwitRGolfers and there he was - holding court.

For the uninitiated, John Daly has become something of a Twitter phenomenon. He was not the first PGA Pro to get on board with Twitter but now he is playing it like it is another Golfing Major.

What amazed me was the way he was working the room. He must have been holding conversations with at least another half dozen tweeters before I decided to throw in my own comment. I recommended he "grab some fish and chips" from a place I knew around the corner from Wentworth, where he was practicing tomorrow. Yep, pretty silly suggestion - but small talk has never been one of my strengths.

I felt, if this was the best I could contribute to the banter, then my chances of cranking up a conversation with the golfing legend were pretty close to zero.

Not so, the subject of food seemed to grasp his attention.

Whilst this was going on, fellow tweeter and prominent blogger, Andy Brown from St Andrews in Scotland was lining up an encounter with John Daly at the London Club

Not only that, but a few other Tweeters were helping him upload photos to the Net. The tweets were flying back and forth in every direction. He was driving the conversations.

John Daly was having fun last night - we all were.

He was laughing out loud (LOL). At one stage he said "Send some more twitters my way I'm liking the new meets on here"

The Hog jumped in for a fashion discussion with the big man. More silliness.

Others were wishing him well on the European Tour. He is currently in exile from the US Tour after a a slight indiscretion which caused the powers that be to slap a 6 - month ban on him.

So, what was the big lesson in all of this?

For me it reinforced the assertion of wine entrepreneur, Gary Vaynerchuk, who said that Twitter is "word of mouth on steroids". He was dead right.

How many of us are today telling our friends about the one-on-one conversation(s) we had with John Daly? We all had a story to tell. We all touched the hem. We all felt that we had his personal attention - and we had, if only for a few fleeting tweets.

There is no doubt that John Daly used Twitter to grow his fan base last night. In fact he repeats the performance almost on a daily basis. The man is reinventing himself on so many levels. And twitter is one of the most potent, viral marketing weapons in his arsenal. More fans, more eyeballs, more value for the sponsors - everyone wins.

And then the hunger pangs kicked in. At last my inane fish and chip comment was given some context.

John Daly gave up on the camera and went off to grab some dinner.

Hope you enjoyed the steak John. He would no doubt have tweeted about the experience later but it was all too late for me.

Congratulations, John Daly. Your talent extends well beyond the golf course.

You can tweet with John Daly and other leading Tour Players at PGA Tour Player Tweets.

And for golfers who Twitter (and for those who don't :-) come join our dysfunctional little community at TwitRGolfers - Because We are Crazy About Golf.

Tags: aidan, daly, golf, hog, john, montague, the, twitrgolfers, twitter

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Comment by Amy on June 23, 2009 at 4:46pm: I twitter to promote my business and to keep in contact with my online peers. I also learn to write more effectively and succinctly because of the character limit.

follow me at http://twitter.com/FidesFashion

Comment by Terah Logan on June 23, 2009 at 4:46pm: I post updates all day long - I'm online marketing and designing websites so it's easy to update.

Comment by Solveigh on June 23, 2009 at 4:46pm: I use Twitter also to promote our website about the luxurious Hereke Carpets. Of course I do not only tell about them, although it is a lot about them at this moment, but I interact with my followers as well, if there's something interesting to respond...

For me is the best thing with Twitter that my tweets are to see on almost ten (or even more?) different places on the www, where I have other followers, of course :-)

If you are curious about my tweets, do not hesitate to follow me :-)

Comment by Jonathan Bradley on June 23, 2009 at 4:46pm: I do use it to send out tips and info on how a healtheir lifestyle can make you better at running your business, but in reality, I prefer to use it to bring a smile or a chuckle to people as they read funny quotes amongst the wash of 'the best opportunities you will ever see!'.

Comment by amyeandrews on June 23, 2009 at 4:44pm: Learning from others through the sharing of links, case studies and best practices. Also, building on personal brand.

Comment by Bernadette Morgan on June 23, 2009 at 4:44pm: I twitter some normal every day stuff, occasional musings, which seem to get responses at times, and also to promote my website and what I am working on at that particular moment you can find me here on twitter http://twitter.com/BernieMorgan

Comment by Steve Hall on June 23, 2009 at 4:40pm: Just added the "Top 50" English-language re Spain twitterers to http://www.thisisspain.info/moving-to-spain/spanish-twitter

Comment by Rev. Philipp J. Kessler on June 23, 2009 at 4:39pm: We have been pondering adding Twitter as one of the networking tools we use for our store. I am seriously thinking that it may be a very good idea. Though I have my doubts for personal use after seeing the news stories about robbers using Twitter as a way to find out when someone isn't home....just like they used to with obituaries.

Comment by Steve Hall on June 23, 2009 at 4:37pm: I use it to promote Spain in general and www.thisisspain.info in particular.

My Twitter? @thisisspain
No surprise!

S

Comment by Janine Libbey on June 23, 2009 at 4:35pm: We track tweets where people are looking for translations or translators. We have found three new clients that way and have several other leads that we are pursuing. Needless to say, we will continue to tweet. My twitter name is @jlibbey