Filed under: Bobcats, Kings, Nuggets, Spurs, Trail Blazers, FIBA, FIBA World Championship

Today in The Works: how Carmelo Anthony could set himself up with a wonderful future and why losing Tony Parker uncovered France’s special talents.

But first, Brandon Jennings blazes more path.

New Media Somethingstar: Quietly, or at least not on a register we’re used to taking seriously, Brandon Jennings has been huge lately. I know some readers think I believe too ardently in the power of the interwebs, most notably the silly 2.0 version that kids use on the electric bus. There have also been some disagreements in the past between myself and Mr. Jennings, namely, I am several years older than him and don’t quite always get his meaning.

But in a summer that has seen LeBron James simply killed for his misadventures with television and virtual print, Jennings has used Web 2.0 to set an agenda and hone his image — all without ever seeming to try too hard.

He has used Twitter and gossip sites to lambast the Heat and other prospective super-teams; was filmed playing with fellow young turks Stephen Curry and Tyreke Evans in some summer run that, compared to Miami’s corporate gigantism and Team USA’s delicate national interests, was practically the raw uncut; slyly asserted that sneaker interests played some role in who made Team USA; and finally, danced to Lady Gaga even even if he totally looked like a dancer from Madonna’s Truth or Dare.

If you don’t think Jennings is bus constructing a more layered, intricate public persona, well, you’re not on the right frequency. Jennings’s frequently shifting, sometimes locked, Twitter accounts aren’t so different from pirate webcasts or disposable cell phones. The low-risk, high-reward world of social media — where an item can live and die in a matter of hours, and imperfect archiving means you’re always left with some form of ghost — is the future of athletes-in-public. Unlike more durable “stories”, there’s an element of unpredictability, fan input, and freedom that makes it at once exhilarating and potentially dangerous.

Brandon Jennings knows how to play the game like no other. These are a few of his stories.

?

Permalink?|?Email this?|?Linking?Blogs?|?Comments

Here is the original post:
The Works: Brandon Jennings, Sub-Media Darling