Well-known sports and social media blogger Jason Peck released an ebook today that aggregates trends and predictions for 2010 of 16 thought leaders in the sports and social media space.  We are excited that Activ8Social Partner Steve Cobb was included in the first annual release of the compilation.  You can find his predictions on pages 21-22.

This past year was not without its major headlines, including of course the recent Tiger Woods saga, but equally important as any individual, team, or league accomplishment was the underlying paradigm shift in the dissemination and consumption of sports media and marketing.  When you step back and take a look at 2009, you realize it was certainly a year to remember for those of us that follow online sports marketing.

From the infamous half time tweet by then Milwaukee Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva to Lance Armstrong’s 300 fan tweet-ride in Glasgow, Scotland to Chad OchoCinco’s launch of the OCNN to the expansion of sports blog micro-communities like SB Nation, both fan and athlete adopted platforms like Facebook,  Twitter, and Tumblr to share their humble (or not so humble) sports opinion.   Long gone is the day that anyone involved in sports marketing can afford to ignore the impact of social media and digital technology on their sport.

With this in mind, Steve Cobb outlined predictions in 3 different areas relevant specifically to professional athletes and social media which include 1) promotions, 2) live video, and 3) mobile.  Here’s an excerpt of Steve’s forecast from the ebook:

“Look for increased adoption of live streaming video services such as uStream by athletes, particularly the household names.  Video is a natural progression for players looking to lend authenticity to their social media presence and reach the next level of fan connection.  Although the relative percentage of athletes using live video services will remain small, many more will begin to experiment and find value in “off-the-cuff” video interaction with fans.”

For all of Steve’s insights published in the “Sports Social Media Predictions 2010″, please read the interactive Scribd document below.  We encourage everybody to download, read, share, and thoroughly enjoy!  Make sure to pass along this post to anybody thinking about a future career in sports marketing.

Sports Social Media Predictions 2010

Be sure to check back soon for a blog series on Activ8Social’s other thoughts about the new year and what to expect in digital sports marketing.  Until next year …