Media and the Olympics
Though most would believe that an event as huge and important as the Olympics can sell itself to viewers around the world, this is turning out not to be true. The head of the New Media for Olympic Games, Alex Balfour, is saying that since social media networks have been evolving, the Olympics have been more popular than ever. This, I believe, has been true for all sporting events. Interacting with other fans and people who enjoy sports through these websites can make the games even more fun.
2012 won’t be the first Olympic games that have been promoted by social media but sources are saying that as the years go on, Olympic sporting events will only continue to get more popular and gain more press, due to media outlets. In 2010, the Vancouver Olympics Facebook page had over 1.5 million fans, plus thousands of viewers on YouTube. London’s 2012 Olympics are hoping to top these numbers. Balfour stated that there is said to be over 40 new projects in digital media that are in progress and will be ready in time for the upcoming Olympics. He hopes that the social media will not only be used for fans to communicate, but also for people to be able to share these moments and participate in watching the events with others. There is no telling what innovations will be used to connect fans in almost two years of time.
For more information about social media’s role in the Olympics:
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