The celebrity of the athlete has grown enormously since I was a young boy.Today the athlete is everywhere promoting everything from auto insurance to the local zoo. When I was growing up, one of the first commercials was Joe Namath wearing a pair of Leggs Panty Hose. At that time it was a controversial ad. Nowadays it would get lost in the mix. We have products that we never thought would be advertised on television, like erectile disfunction medication, and yes, there are celebrity athletic endorsers for that. Before there was only television to get your face or the product you endorse out there. Now Facebook, Twitter, instant messaging, and digital media in general has been able to put a message and face out there almost instantly. This is an advantage for the athlete endorser and can add millions of dollars to their bank account. But as we all are aware of, the ability for you to be seen in a negative light has instantaneous ramifications also. If you mistreat a waiter or car valet, you can be taped by a cell phone and your image can crash and burn as fast as you rose to popularity. The ability to get your image and a product you have been paid to use or endorse shows future generations of athletic spokesmen or women that you can broaden your image and audience. It's beneficial in other ways because the product or service you are endorsing can make you seem like an average guy, not an untouchable or out of touch celebrity. I do not think that the celebrity aspect of their lives interfere with the game. Some celebrities have become much more famous in their advertising career after their stint as a professional athlete. For instance, Magic Johnson is a Hall of Fame basketball player but alot of people recognized him as the face of h.i.v/aids campaign after he made public his positive diagnosis to the disease. I,  under very few circumstances, do not use or view athletes as role models for my son. He can look up to them for the way to pattern his intensity and work ethic to prepare or approach their specific sport, but not as a role model. Role models in my eyes are reserved for teachers or someone in the community that has a positive image and contributes to real life on a day to day basis.

The internet has done a great deal for artists in the entertainment field today. When you can get your image, song, new dance or whatever it is that you do to an unlimited audience, instantly, I see no bad side to it. Not only is the internet a positive, but social networking as well, the financial gain can be immeasurable. You as an artsist have the ability to determine who, what, where, and how your product is introduced to the masses, is control like never before. For instance, people in China can see a perfomance by someone performing at a local county fair immediately as it is happening, and can be shown to anyone interested with the click of a button. Sure some artists take  hit by the music sharing web sites, but if you take the time and have the right people and plan in place it can be very lucrative for you as a performer. As a performer you have the ability to put your music out there either one song at a time or release the whole album all at once. The power has shifted from the record label to the artist in an ultimate paradigm shift. To me, the financial gain by the atrist i at an all time high. The record company are the ones scrambling around to try and find ways to regin some of the power. The artist is now in control like they only dreamed of before in the past. Some people like Kid Rock literally sold cd's from the trunk of his car before and after concerts and make a killing doing so. He reportedly sold 2 million albums before the label he is currently with signed him to a deal. In essance, he was self made before any music executive ever even heard his name or knew who he was. Justin Beiber is another one, who along with You Tube, made him an overnight sensation. Granted, he put in the work to get where he is but the accessability he had and the audience he was able to reach made the record label take not and kind of forced their hand. Today I think that the positives tht are out there with the internet and various social networking has given the atrist the control to stipulate to the companies their side of things and they have to honor and respect their individual demands because it is kind of like jump on board before the train leaves the station. The labels want to make what they can off the atrist and if they miss the train, the potential of losing out on millions of dollars leaves with it..  http://www.mtv.com/  http://www.vh1.com/