19 Years After Navigating Facebook?s Limitations to ?Interact?, Maria Sharapova Details an Evolution of Epic Proportions

Legendary tennis champion Maria Sharapova has candidly discussed the immense growth of social media over the past 15 years, reflecting on how she took her time getting comfortable with it early in her career. Using her own experience as an example, Sharapova now wants to encourage women interested in entering the Web space to dive in and actively experiment as she did with social media.

The 35-year-old Sharapova retired from professional tennis in 2020 and has focused extensively on business ventures since. Recently, she spoke during an interview at Binance Blockchain Week. She expanded on her burgeoning involvement in the internet industry and drew parallels to her early social media days. Sharapova highlighted that when she won her first Grand Slam singles title as a 17-year-old at Wimbledon in 2004, social media played zero role in her journey. It took her many years to embrace social media and become adept at utilizing it.

Maria Sharapova and her take on social media

Sharapova recalled how unfamiliar and uncomfortable social media first felt to her. But gradually, through actively using platforms like Twitter and Instagram, she gained confidence and built large followings. Sharapova emphasized that getting hands-on experience was crucial to overcoming the learning curve.

She compares her days with the times today. In an interview with Bloomberg Live, Sharapova goes on to say, “That’s a problem I mean you can say in 2004 after winning Grand Slam when Facebook was really the only way that I could interact. With a fan base just with a photo or you know, they’d see a video of myself now You actually know what is your fan eat? Where exactly do they live? What are they snacking on at 3 p.m? I mean, there’s you kind of you have this incredible connection to the fan audience. There’s so much untapped financial potential in the sport.”

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Sharapova urged women intrigued by Web3 to take a similarly proactive approach, trying out different platforms and applications to gain real first-hand experience. Over time, Sharapova has built a massive social media following, with over 4 million Instagram followers currently and more than 8 million on Twitter. As her illustrious tennis career developed, her off-court personality and pursuits also garnered increased attention alongside her on-court success.

Sharapova describes her personal growth with Web3

Maria Sharapova also discussed the value of Web3 from a personal perspective, explaining how it has become an impactful tool for her to boost engagement with tennis fans globally post-retirement. She recognizes that since stepping away from professional tennis in 2020, her fans see much less of her now, as she no longer competes in tournaments or has a consistent television presence.

However, Sharapova emphasized that the Web space has enabled her to interact with her longtime fans in new and enriching ways that make her feel more connected to them. Though in-person sightings are rarer since her playing days ended, Sharapova believes it has helped fill that void by providing creative avenues to actively reach and communicate with fans all over the world.

Sharapova spoke enthusiastically about leveraging Web platforms to foster a greater sense of community with people who have followed her career for so many years. She appreciates Web giving her the ability to engage fans on a more personal level than ever before, even without the visibility of still being an active tennis star.

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