Soccer Insider: Twitter is taking over the sports industry...are you following?

Your alarm clock goes off and it begins. And by it, I mean Twitter.

For most of the working population, you likely do one of three things when you wake up in the morning;

1) Get a drink
2) Go to the bathroom
3) Check your phone/computer

This used to be the order in which I started my day...not anymore. No. 3 has quickly become my new No. 1, and before I knew it, my urge to use the bathroom or take a swig of OJ had not only dropped in the pecking order, it had been prolonged an extra 15-30 minutes. And it's all because of Twitter.

When I started working as a freelance editor for Major League Soccer in 2011, I spent roughly 6-8 hours/day on Facebook and 15-20 minutes/day on Twitter. Flash forward 18 months later and you'll catch me on Twitter 6-8 hours/day (if not more) and Facebook 15-20 minutes/day.

Before we jump into the effect that Twitter is having throughout the soccer community, here are some general stats regarding the social media giant (via statisticbrain.com).

Total number of active registered Twitter users	554,750,000
Number of new Twitter users signing up everyday	135,000
Number of unique Twitter site visitors every month	190 million
Average number of tweets per day	58 million
Number of Twitter search engine queries every day	2.1 billion
Percent of Twitter users who use their phone to tweet	43 %
Percent of tweets that come from third party applicants	60%
Number of people that are employed by Twitter	2,500
Number of active Twitter users every month	115 million
Percent of Twitters who don’t tweet but watch other people tweet	40%
Number of days it takes for 1 billion tweets	5 days
Number of tweets that happen every second	9,100

As a writer/editor looking grow my career in the industry, Twitter is the ultimate resource. It's a great way to get the latest news from around the world and grow your image at the same time. Most of my friends back in Port Richey, Florida couldn't care less about Twitter, but my friends and coworkers living in New York City can't live without it.

Does Twitter thrive in metropolitan areas? Yes, but that shouldn't be the case. Whether you use Twitter to voice your opinion or check your local news, it is the most efficient way to obtain information, especially with regards to sports.

Sports Illustrated senior editor, Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl), is one of the most accomplished writers for the sport of soccer in America. He currently has 320,000+ followers on Twitter and that number continues to grow every day. Each tweet he sends out is read by tens of thousands of people.

Wahl tweets mostly about the U.S. Men's National team and Major League Soccer which makes him one of the most influential media icons in North America with regards to soccer.

A simple tweet like...

New all-time USMNT record: 8 consecutive wins.
— Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl) July 17, 2013

...got 367 retweets and 90 favorites.

Stephen Goff (@SoccerInsider) is another key figure relaying soccer news in America. He's a reporter for the Washington Post, covering mostly D.C. United of MLS and the U.S. Men's National team. Goff is approaching 100,000 followers.

USA adds Eddie Johnson, Matt Besler, Omar Gonzalez, Alan Gordon, drops Ashe, Gomez, Onyewu and McInerney. #usmnt
— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) July 18, 2013

Twitter has quickly become the most efficient way to communicate with people, companies, celebrities, etc. I can go months without texting my coworkers, but you'll likely see the majority of us communicating through Twitter on a daily basis.

It's not easy gaining followers, but if you work hard it, you'll get there. Grant Wahl didn't get to where he is because he tweets pictures of his dog. Almost everything he tweets is relevant and work related.

What you tweet and how you tweet it ultimately paves the way for success or failure amongst your peers. It's the most important form of self-promotion we have and it's free. Most people do it as a way to promote their work, brand, etc., and if done the right way, it can greatly increase your chances of landing a better job down the road.

(Note: I'm not killing it by any means when it comes to followers. Hopefully I can make a mid-season push and get to 1,000 by the end of the year. We'll see.)

Here are the most popular soccer-related accounts in the Twitterverse;

No. 16 Overall: Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) - 19,832,900 followers
No. 21 Overall: Kaka (@Kaka) - 16,121,900 followers
No. 57 Overall: FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) - 9,501,145 followers
No. 76 Overall: Real Madrid (@realmadrid) - 8,237,678 followers

Even more amazing is this fake Lionel Messi account (@LeoMessi_Barca) that has 715,094 followers.

Major League Soccer and each individual team will never catch a team like Barcelona, but that doesn't mean they aren't making progress. Here are the latest Twitter numbers for MLS (as of July 19, 2013):

Major League Soccer (@MLS) – 208,900 followers