Olympic Games and social media

The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part. This old statement still applies to most athletes, but also more or less to the audience. Since the start of the Olympics last Friday, sports fanatics are trying hard to participate in their own way by keeping informed about news and results from Vancouver. To reach these fans, several organizations are reporting on the Games via various channels, mainly consisting of social media. But where can you find these channels? An overview is listed below.

Google

Using the slogan ‘Get Inside the Games with Google Maps’, Google offers several tools to get their visitors involved. They offer specific information about events, medals and even about the athletes themselves. Another nice option is the possibility to take a look at the Olympic Village and sporting venues via Street View, which almost gives people the feeling that they are in Vancouver themselves. The www.google.com/games10 website is available in 42 languages.

Twitter

The Twitter page of the Vancouver Organizing Committee (Vanoc) has recently passed the barrier of 10,000 followers. Their aim is to keep you informed with ‘timely tweets from the Vanoc Communications Team’. Because Twitter is a powerful medium to spread news fast, http://twitter.com/2010tweets will serve you to keep up-to-date.

Facebook

Not surprisingly, you can find many pages and groups which are related to the Olympic Games on Facebook. The biggest one at the moment, http://www.facebook.com/olympicgames, is very active and has more than 1.3 million fans. The page shares a lot of content on the Olympics, like information about events and a forum which can be used to discuss with other fans. You can also play Vancouver mini games and there’s a photo contest, inviting fans to submit their coolest photo of the Games.

Hyves

The Vancouver 2010 hyve works together with NOC*NSF, which is the official organization for sports in the Netherlands. The page, which can be found at http://olympischespelen.hyves.nl/, has more than 13,000 members. You can find the Olympic schedule as well as several blogs, gadgets and pictures on Vancouver. Last but not least, it is possible to pimp your Hyves profile into the Olympic style.

Using these social media, it is almost impossible to miss essential information about our Olympic heroes. Wish you lots of fun while following the Olympic Games!