The presentation of celebrity personas in everyday twittering: managing online reputations throughout a communication crisis

Abstract

New and social media are powerful new communication platforms capable of underpinning marketing and communication strategies; the new material mediation of interaction creates new sorts of interactional problems which need to be resolved. We intend to provide qualitative research and reflection on social media and their impact on issues pertaining to public relations activities and communication management. This article analyses management of the online reputation of an Olympic athlete, applying a Goffmanian framework regarding self-presentation. After a theoretical component concerning the concept of celebrity, sport sponsorship and crisis management, the authors focus on the uses and misuses of social media, addressing an exploratory research question, that is: how should a celebrity manage a communication crisis caused by misuse of a social media platform?