And remember that, Social Media and inline skating is all about communication. But back in the day, the only way for me to express how much I liked a certain trick was to buy a magazine, cut out the picture and put it on my wall of my bedroom. Now, if you want to communicate with a skater and tell him/her how much you like their tricks, just send them a message and they will probably respond.
This is instant gratification. Social Media, especially Instagram, has changed everything. Now, we not only communicate through chat. But the videos themselves are communication and a way to showcase new tricks, style, equipment, etc.
Additionally, YouTube has brought thousands of "How-to"videos to phones around the world. This has basically cut your practice time in half and brought the learning curve way down. This has allowed easy entry points to new skaters everywhere. And as the equipment gets better so does the techniques. Nowadays, you can watch any kind of equipment video on YouTube that you want. In the past you needed to go to a shop and ask the one guy who worked there. Check this video out comparing old quad skates and new inline skates:
Moreover, new kinds of inline have become available to people around the world on social media such as slalom and speed skating.
Also, Aggressive Inline used to be dominated by men, but now there are a number of Insta accounts that are dedicated to only female skaters, see #bladies.
So, get out there, skate some cool street, record it and upload it to Instagram--join the skate communication revolution!
Top Ten Ways that Social Media Has Revolutionized Skating
1. Ease of Communication
2. How-to Videos
3. Equipment Review Videos
4. Book of Grinds
5. Instagram Videos
6. Online Skate Games such as Game of Blade
7. Facebook (and Other Social Media) Skate Meet-up Groups
8. Online Shopping for Equipment
9. Blueprints for how to build your own obstacles (ramps, rails, etc)
10. Making all kinds of inline skating for all people available to everyone around the world.
Do you agree with this list? What am I forgetting? Please comment below.
Other Interesting Media:
Although this video is about Skateboarding, most if not all of the topics also apply to Inline-Skating.
https://www.redbull.com/sg-en/videos/how-social-media-has-changed-skateboarding
Book of Grinds: This website is a little slow to load but is by far the best for learning tricks.
http://www.skateyeg.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKWeKaoycJw. Want more revolution? Mushroom Blading are revolutionizing how people think of what inline skating should be. These guys are progressive but they also don't take themselves too seriously. You'll enjoy it, I promise.
Nice blog!
ReplyDelete