The World's First Social Olympics

Much is being said and written about how London 2012 is set to become the world's first Social Olympics.  Indeed, there are some fascinating developments taking place which I am hoping to track as we move into the last 100 days before the commencent of the summer Olympics.

Mashable reports that when the last Summer Olympics began in 2008, Facebook had just 100 million users. When the 2012 Games kick off in London this summer, it will have 845 million members. Twitter had 6 million users in 2008; today the network is more than 20 times larger, at 140 million users.

Forbes reports on an intriguing Facebook initiative from Samsung ominously named "The Genome Project".  It's not as bad as it sounds though!  In an attempt to help rally American's behind Team USA, Samsung is asking fans "How Olympic are you?"  

Very simply (and providing you authorise it to) - Samsung will be accessing your personal details and, by means of a new app, demonstrating the 6 degrees of separation (and hopefully less) between you and a member of Team USA.   

Said Samsung's Global CMO:

“We call it the genome project because it looks at your social graph and pulls in and makes connections for you that you may not have otherwise known.  For example, you may not know that there’s a skier from your home town that is an Olympic athlete or somebody who competed in a different sport that went to the same college as you. We’re making these kind of connections through the genome project.  We believe everyone has a connection to Team USA. The U.S. Olympic Genome Project will help consumers discover how they’re connected to these athletes.  As we approach London 2012, we hope to fuel a sense of connection and passion for the Olympic Games among consumers, especially as they get to know the Olympians and Paralympians through this innovative social media platform?

It's all a great idea - until it goes wrong.  Marketing Magazine reports that some 13 Olympians - including legends such as diver Greg Louganis, track star Jackie Joyner Kersee and swimmer Mark Spitz are suing Samsung for alleged misuse of their names and images.

Meanwhile, Mashable reports that the IOC has launched an online athletes’ headquarters designed to serve as a social media platform enhancing the digital connection between fans and competitors. 

The Olympic Athletes’ Hub aggregates the verified social media feeds of more than 1,000 current and former Olympians. Besides communication with athletes, users will be able to access exclusive training-tips videos and gain virtual and real-world prizes according to how many athletes they like and follow online.  According to IOC Social Media Director Alex Huot:

“The Olympic Games have at its heart the athletes,” he says. “The hub also has the athletes at its heart. We want the hub to be a platform which can inspire athletes and fans to share the Olympic values of friendship, respect and excellence through their everyday stories.”

Each Olympian receives a dashboard which aggregates all of his/her social profiles as well as a review of past achievements.

There's a highly informative infographic here on Mashable here which maps out the impact which Social Media is set to have on the 2012 Olympic Games