The social media Olympics
I am getting very excited today watching the build up to the opening ceremony of the London Olympics. I am really looking forward to the next few weeks — not only for the sport — but also for the experience of such a huge global event happening so nearby.
That event is going to have some unique aspects. Some of which will be worth studying closely and learning from. One of these is the strong likelihood that these will be the first “social media Olympics”.
At the time of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Facebook was just over four years old and Twitter was a mere two. Now, four years later, these London games will take place against a back drop of greater maturity for these technologies. Organisations are having to adapt to the demands of social media, a Twitter account is an essential PR tool for any significant public figure — athletes included, and most large events can be shaped and interpreted through the parallel virtual event that is created by the social media interactions of participants and spectators.
How much will this be true for an event as big as the Olympics? I am expecting social media to play a major part in how the world experiences the Games over the next few weeks.
The reason for mentioning all this is to point you to a video that some colleagues of mine — I’ve worked with them via Banerji Associates — have put together looking at precisely this issue. It is rather good. It includes interviews with members of Team GB and Jeremy Hunt MP, and I think people will find it interesting.
This content was originally posted on my old Strange Thoughts blog.