Championship Team Penske NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski offered his thoughts on social media Wednesday. In a tweet, he argued some forms of social media are moribund.
“Given the politics of today, I have a strong feeling we are watching the demise of some powerful forms of social media,” Keselowski tweeted. “That makes be sad because social media can be used for good but too often is used for forces of evil. I guess it is what we make it and allow it to be…”
NASCAR innovator
Keselowski didn’t specify what he thought the forces of good and evil were. But he has earned plaudits for his social media innovation.
Keselowski became the first NASCAR driver to tweet from a race. In 2012, he tweeted from his car while driving the Daytona International Speedway.
NASCAR did not penalize Keselowski for his tweet. “We encourage our drivers to use social media to express themselves as long as they do so without risking their safety or that of others,” NASCAR said in a statement.
Social media pressure
Keselowski has over 771,500 followers on Twitter. Still, the Twitter king of NASCAR admits to some anxiety about social media.
“I feel so much pressure when I’m on social media,” Keselowski told USA Today. “It’s like, put out something that’s funny and relevant but also that sponsors won’t get mad about – in fact, can you promote sponsors while you’re doing it? Son of a — gosh, that’s hard. So sometimes I get stressed out about it, and some days, I’ll just be like in the shower and have an epiphany: ‘Ahh, I should do this.’”
Through it all, Keselowski told USA Today he follows one overarching philosophy: be authentic.
“When you do things out of that spot in your heart and in your mind that are authentic — and just kind of showcase who you are and what you think is cool — (then) other people appreciate it,” he said.
