The 2012 Summer Olympics are well under way. Today's social community is not what it was during the last Summer Olympics in Beijing. With the ability to instantly tweet the result of a race (Michael Phelps was trashed on Twitter after coming in fourth in his first race), NBC has already found it challenging to air “Breaking News!” If you're interested in following the Olympics via social media and the Internet, here are a few suggestions:
- NBC developed an app called NBC Olympics Live Extra. The app will provide streaming coverage of every competition in every sport - more than 3,500 hours of live video and 302 medal competitions.
- Several websites are available to help keep you up-to-date on the Olympic activities before, during and after the events. These are the official websites:
- NBC has built an Olympics Facebook Page and here is the Team USA Page.
- For up to the minute tweets, follow @Olympics, @USOlympicTeam, @IOCMedia (Official Olympic News) and @London2012. You can also check out IOC's Twitter Lists and Olympians Twitter list just to name a few.
- Be sure to add the London 2012 Google+ page to your circles to keep up with the happenings on Google+.
- If YouTube is your social network of choice, don't miss the Team USA YouTube Channel or The Official Olympic Channel by the IOC.
- Finally, I was also able to find a photo sharing group for the 2012 Olympics on Flickr.
Since none of the events will be televised live in prime time in America, this list ought to help keep you up to speed with what's happening with your favorite Olympic athlete.
Let us know what social networks you visited during the Olympics. Did social media help or hurt your Olympic experience?
