By this, Cuban said he meant that the two didn't try to make their tweets too "inside cycling" or "inside basketball."
Cuban said he isn't surprised that it is the older athletes and not college and high school athletes who have adopted Twitter as opposed to other social networks such as MySpace and Facebook.
"Twitter is quick and easy, and more importantly, real-time broadcast to an open network," Cuban said. "There is no limit on size while Facebook, as an example, limits the size of your network. The lack of limits is of more value to people who have entered the business world."
And the business world has caught on.
NBA director of marketing Dan Opalo said the league created its own Twitter page as a way to help fans find games on television, give them in-game updates and alert them to developing stories.
"If Chris Paul is on his way to scoring 50 points we might send out a tweet," he said.
TNT, with its NBA coverage, had some of its announcers twittering during the NBA playoffs, including Kenny Smith who has, as he said, "totally embraced this thing. I'm a tech guy, I want to blow it out of the water."
And he certainly has had some fun. His Twitter name is TheJetOnTNT and he tweeted, "The commiss came by the studio early today I missed him, he didn't wait for me."
Hessert, the strategist who is president of Sports Media Challenge, said O'Neal and Armstrong have been successful because they have a Twitter strategy.
"Too many athletes start Twittering with no purpose in mind," she said. "Shaq and Lance have specific goals. Twitter won't replace traditional media. It is more a tool to let people know the real you. And the people who succeed are the ones willing to put themselves out there."
Chuck Schilling, research director of media and analytics for Nielsen ratings, said Twitter is here to stay.
"Can there be problems? Sure," he said. "But it is obvious from the numbers that it is appealing to everyone. Athletes especially. The ones who succeed are the ones who have a good story to tell every day."
Kevin Love: 11,553 followers. And rising.
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diane.pucin@latimes.com
