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ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF
TORONTO – Jonathan Hood (@JHood41) has 9,807 followers on Twitter, more than many and one of the top totals on the Toronto Argonauts. Some of Hood’s substantial followers include Canadian music sensation and Juno Award winner Bif Naked, Canadian Indie Rock Band “Enter the Haggis”, as well as countless football personalities from around the country. Hood credits his social networking celebrity status to nothing more than simply getting involved. He takes pride in mentoring youth through athletics, speaking at various events and being active in his community.
The 27 year-old Mississauga native runs both a kids camp and a mentor program. GTA Youth Athletics Camp is a not-for-profit organization with the goal to “build better leaders through sport”. Ahead of the Game Mentor Group is comprised of professional athletes and community leader facilitators who partner with administration to facilitate interactive, themed sessions to students.
One of Hood’s main thoughts on social media is that people will follow you when they want to learn more about you or what you do. They hear him speak at events, meet him at camp, and then want to get to know him, so they connect with him through Twitter. To Jonathan, it does not matter who you are, if you are an interesting person and provide good content he will follow you. “I follow people who I think are interesting because when you are connected, you make more connections. I’m not social media savvy but I do not think I have ever turned down a friend request on Facebook. [Social media] is nothing personal though, if you are interesting I will follow you but if you’re not, I won’t.”
It is apparent that Twitter is JHood41’s main outlet. At first, he absolutely hated social media as he thought it was pointless to post things about what you’re doing, and other things that no one has any interest int. It was until he took a course on social media that he learnt to use it the right way. “Twitter is about creating relationships in a safeway, you don’t have to meet people in person.” Relationships can be developed purely online with constant interaction. You can be a fan of someone you follow, or just be interested in the content they produce. To Hood, it is all about being educated about your surroundings and being in the loop.
Joining the Toronto Argonauts as a free agent on March 20, 2013 Hood will look to bring his knack for special teams to the Double Blue. Spending the last three seasons in Hamilton, he recorded 38 special teams tackles including a season-high 22 in 2011. This past year, Hood finished with six (6) special teams tackles in four (4) games with Hamilton.