Tiger Where Are You??

In the new world of web 2.0 (and soon web 3.0) the era of one way communication is over.  No longer can companies, news outlets, celebrities, or anyone for that matter have a one way communication strategy.  This is something we have gone over many times on wwwwY.  Along with this is the fact that entities (in this case Tiger) needs to be responsive to the masses as they can turn on him as quickly as they joined him.

Companies and brands have been doing a good job of engaging in “conversations” with their consumers and reacting to questions/ideas.  Most athletes have done a great job of this as well.  Twitter has been a very good medium for athletes to connect with their fans and vice versa (ex: Chad Ochocinco).  Tiger has not done any of this.

With all the controversy surrounding the car accident and now what seems like dozens of people coming out, claiming to be his mistress; now has never been a better time for Tiger to come out and set things straight.

(On a side note, I just turned to 3 news stations back to back with the head story being Tiger having an affair with an Escondido girl.  With President Obama speaking on Afghanistan tonight, should it really be the top story?)

Tiger needs to respond.  Tiger didn’t release a statement on his web site until days after his crash and after he and his family turned down police efforts to interview him.  Whether Tiger did or is doing something wrong, it is always important to remember that America is the land of the forgiving, especially for celebrities and athletes (just ask: Kobe, Michael Jordan, Shaq, Mike Tyson, Martha Stewart, Michael Jackson, R Kelly, Hugh Grant, Kiefer Sutherland, Michael Phelps, Charlie Sheen, Bill Clinton…)  As long as you apologize, mean it, and show remorse America will forgive you.

I don’t know what Tiger did and didn’t do.  I don’t know what went on during the crash, I don’t know what his relationship is like with his wife and I don’t know anything about his mistresses.  The one thing I do know that his prolonged silence is only hurting him and his reputation.

People do say ‘It’s his private life, he doesn’t need to answer to anyone”.  In the past this has been true, but in todays world of high levels of proliferation media and obsession with stars, Tiger (and stars in general) owe a great deal to the public for their fame and fortune.  If consumers didn’t like Tiger Woods, his sponsorships wouldn’t mean nearly as much as they do currently.  So yes it is his private life, but one pays a price for fame and fortune; they lose a certain level of personal privacy.  It’s sad, but true.

As of now Tiger’s sponsors have said they will stick by him.  We all know that this isn’t always the case, just ask Michael Phelps.  If conformation comes out about rampant cheating and scandals it will be interesting to see if his sponsorships stick to their current stance.  When that day comes, you can bet there will be analysis here on wwwwY.

So Tiger, where are you?  Maybe if you hadn’t been so silent through this whole process you could have prevented this firestorm of media attention.

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