Gerard Pique is known for his complete lack of chill on social media. FC Barcelona are reportedly telling him to tone it down a tad.
Gerard Pique has less chill than the Sahara.
We've all seen his infamous tweets every time Real Madrid or Espanyol embarrass themselves, which lately has been pretty often.
Now, he has taken his off-the-cuff style to Periscope, the streaming video service.
The defender says he likes being able to connect directly with his audience, not allowing the media to act as a middle man and distort his words. (He surely likes that he gets to have more fun and get more attention for it, too. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's in his nature.)
Some sectors of the media didn't appreciate it. After all, they need a job. And they have a point. A person, given the chance, will naturally be tempted to only show themselves in the most flattering light and try to avoid difficult questions. The media's responsibility is to challenge that. Of course, there's nothing that serious going on with Pique. But this is a hypothetical. If it became standard for all players and coaches to be able to dodge the media, we have a problem.
On the other hand, Pique IS still talking to the media. His Periscope sessions are in addition to, not in replacement of, his answers in press conferences and interviews. The media should change with the times and embrace new technology. And to be honest, so far the players haven't succeeded in showing themselves only in the most flattering light - far from it. They've actually been more unguarded.
Pique broadcasts using his phone with no filter whatsoever. If someone says or does something strange, they can't take it back. It's there for the world to see.
PSG's Serge Aurier found out the hard way. He participated in a Periscope session in which he insulted his teammates and coach. He is now suspended for the rest of the season by the team.
Pique's streams haven't caused anything close to that, but FC Barcelona are reportedly telling his agent he should be careful with Periscope, per Mundo Deportivo.
Recently, his Periscope session in an office building was interrupted when he was mobbed by a screaming fan. This stuff isn't rehearsed - it's real, and fascinating because of it.
And that's exactly why Barcelona are worried. The team cannot control if someone tries to pull an Aurier. That's why trying to set standards and restrictions for players using Periscope is probably prudent, though not fun.
For the fans, and the media, if they're smart, Pique's Periscopes have been funny and revealing.
His Periscope from the plane after a win against Eibar is the closest any fan will ever get to actually being there.
We got to see Javier Mascherano act annoyed as Pique and Jordi Alba interrupted him talking to his wife on the phone. We saw Pique, in his affably joking style, mock Aleix Vidal for spending so much time on the bench. ("The bench? Great, with Jeremy Mathieu beside me like we often do," Vidal joked back.)
The defender also congratulated Munir for his goal, before sarcastically praising him for such a difficult finish (it was a 1-yard tap-in.)
My favorite moment was when he asked Lionel Messi about the 100th goal this season scored by the MSN trio - composed of the Argentine, Neymar, and Luis Suarez. "What 100 goals?" Messi asked, genuinely confused. He didn't even know! Isn't that quintessential Messi?
No scratch that, my favorite moment - and the one that probably set off alarm bells for the Barcelona media team - was when Mathieu simulated smoking a cigarette. It was funny, and it was real... and probably not what the stuffy PR people wanted.
It's all about hitting that midpoint. That compromise between having fun and going too far. But until now, Pique has been able to - at least to an extent - ride that line. We'll see if he can keep it up, and if other players are as successful as him, or as unsuccessful as Aurier.
from Barca Blaugranes - All Posts http://ift.tt/1nAEjWF
0 التعليقات:
إرسال تعليق