Not surprising to hear action sports athletes are signing social media contracts with their sponsors. Makes sense in so many ways.

More than ever, action-sports stars are seen as mediums to reach a coveted generation of consumers. "We want to get video that was shot with our product in as many different places and in front of as many different eyes as possible," said Dan Strickland, director of partnership marketing at Contour HD, a hands-free camera company. "Our athletes are our tools to do that."

Interestingly, looking at broader digital media trends it becomes more apparent that athletes speaking from a culturally relevant perspective are going to become hot commodities for youth brands looking to expand and grow globally.

As we move faster and faster into a world defined by social media interactions, it's worth knowing how Latinos use social media because it reveals a fundamental quality of this generation. Yes, we use Twitter, too, but in a different way. We're not selling a personal brand on reality TV but creating community.

Guess we can't forget the O.G. words of Jean-Jacques Rousseau with regards to The Social Contract.

The heart of the idea of the social contract may be stated simply: Each of us places his person and authority under the supreme direction of the general will, and the group receives each individual as an indivisible part of the whole...

The comments from three-time X Games champ in BMX Park, Daniel Dhers (Venezuela), seems to support the Rousseau statement.

I put my sponsors' products in my tweets once in a while, but I don't want it to look like I'm trying to sell something for somebody. It's more like, 'I'm having trouble staying awake -- good thing I got my Red Bull.

The third observation in this Sports Networker post makes a lot of sense and a long time belief of mine. It is a driving force behind my efforts to digitally curate the Latin action sports landscape for the the last four years...Long Tail Theory.

Narrrowcast Media and the Global Reach

No longer does a team need to be covered on ESPN or the local news channel for fans to be educated and involved. This is an opportunity for the teams getting less than ideal media coverage. Organizations can now maintain multiple channels of communication with their fanbase more effectively than ever through social media. As Maslow’s hierarchy of needs lays out for us, people need to feel part of something, and communities of fans will continue to become stronger than ever through social media. - Jim Harshaw

I think we should all be excited in the sports industry about the web 2.0 input: a fantastic opportunity to move away from broadcast to narrowcast which will bring sport content, emotions to individuals in the comfort of their home (or anywhere else). Here in Europe where we see major sports like Formula1 vanish from the scene and media while fan base tankers, web diffusion stands up to address strong and rising expectations.. - Laurent Gaudy

Online tools, such as Burton's "The Great Outfitter", are essential in targeting uninitiated, or non-traditional, snow customers. The curiosity in discovering something new, via an interactive, is very powerful and and effective means for engaging with them.

Riders can put together and view as many pant and jacket combinations as they can think of by selecting different colors, fits, and weather conditions. Users can also find some inspiration from the Great Outfitter’s Gallery, which features outerwear worn by Burton pros and setups chosen by Burton staff. The site features local shops so as to help users find their gear nearby.

The digital media space is where brands gain and lose future customers. Vail Resorts has totally hanged its marketing approah, evident by a recent speech made by CEO Rob Katz. Again, it's all about connecting the dots...Below -- via Hispanic Trending

An amazing convergence is happening in marketing today: the growth of the U.S. Hispanic population is coinciding with the growth of digital media. In fact, Hispanics worldwide are increasingly using the Internet and social media to not only keep in touch with family and friends but they are also searching for product information, comparing prices, printing coupons, and shopping online. Is your brand ready? 

Do you have a road map to get the Hispanic consumer market trending in your direction becomes the question...

I should have been present at the Action Sports Conference put together by Group Y. However with today's prevalent social media landscape being afar doesn't matter in the end.

Here's a Transworld Business recap of what took place.

The day was filled with stacked panels discussing drawing a larger audience to action sports, the role of athletes, the appeal of action sports versus team sports, culture, diversity, retail, and a wide array of hot button issues that make or break brands and businesses.

Videos especially relevant to future industry growth were:

- Steve Caballero on how brands can better partner with their athletes
- Wasserman Media Group Prinipal of Action Sports Management Steve Astephen on growing action sports and working with non-endemics
- VAS Chairman Dayan Henson on getting more eyes on action sports content and supporting producers
- Stoked Mentoring Founder Steve Larosilliere on Stoked's role in developing youth through action sports
- Fuel TV General Manager CJ Olivares on the state of action sports

All of the above are directly tied the emerging urban multicultural youth segment, that is heavily influenced by the U.S. Latino market...

Codigos (Codes) is the latest snowboard trailer from Corte Films. Once again, social media is closing the gap between North & South American markets.

Definition: A code is a rule for converting a piece of information (for example, a letter, word, phrase, or gesture) into another form or representation (one sign into another sign), not necessarily of the same type.

Frame-switching is about understanding the "codes" or "symbols" that define the thought process in each language, thus leading towards transcreation.