By: Madelynn Graham
Account Coordinator
Since 1896, the modern Olympic Games have evolved substantially from eager citizens waiting for printed results of their country’s best athletes. Olympic coverage started as delayed newsprint, progressed to live radio and television broadcast, and transitioned to the age of the Internet and social media. Spectators now have more options than ever to follow events, athletes and news.
What are the advantages of such an interconnected event? When we look at Olympic history, we see nations coming together for a few weeks to engage in friendly competition and support their home countries. Social media digitally integrates users through their profiles and accounts so they can join a global conversation. Thus, a social media Olympics is the ultimate culmination of cooperation and unity amongst countries, spectators and athletes. When the news media focuses on building a following for athletes, they present pre-packaged, heartrending background stories about going to swim practice at five in the morning or parents working two jobs to pay for gymnastics lessons. These stories connect us with these athletes and simulate emotional attachment.
When the games begin, the media spotlights the leaders as they accumulate medals, and the overseas Olympics become a game on the home front as well. Viewers pick favorites and watch their picks succeed. The missing link in this communication has always been bridged by news media outlets publishing clipped quotes and condensed video interviews, delivering a fabricated image of the athletes. Social media erases this gap by allowing athletes to interact directly with fans without the media distorting anything. How else would we know that U.S. basketball team member LeBron James asked U.S. swimmer Lauren Perdue on a date (and she said no!)?
While some of the Olympic social media buzz is putting Olympians in situations they would not normally have to deal with, like US Swimmer Ryan Lochte and his mother’s comments about his alleged “one night stands,” a social Olympics is a mostly positive improvement. Since the core purpose of the Olympics is to bring faraway nations together, and social media is a vehicle for such collaboration, we have a perfect match.
The first official Olympics website launched in 1996, and today we have the Olympic Hub of connectivity. Fans can sign in with their own social media accounts and find their favorite athletes on Twitter and Facebook. There are even Twitter accounts dedicated to each sport. It has never been easier to keep track of scores, medal counts and for the first time, athletes can join the dialogue as well. Social media breaks down the barrier previously upheld by news media and allows athletes to communicate directly with fans. Now, spectators can know exactly how the relay team feels after winning a race when they tweet their emotions instead of waiting to watch a prerecorded interview hours later.
Social media also allows the Olympics to be more visual than ever. Athletes can post photos from their prospective right from their camera phones to their Facebook pages, and viewers can feel the intensity as if they are there too. With more than 1,000 athletes joining the Olympic Hub since the commencement of the games, this year’s Olympics is by far the most interconnected in history. Though this interconnectivity has yielded a few awkward moments and faux pas, it accomplishes the greater goal of bringing countries together for a peaceful competition. Through social media, athletes can celebrate their success and fans can show their support. Foreign nations come together, sustaining this global conversation all together and putting debate and arguments aside – if only for a few weeks.