What will you be doing on July 27, the opening night of the London 2012 Summer Olympics? If you’re anything like me, you’ll be glued to Twitter, Facebook, and TV coverage of the events!
The games are being billed as the first social-media Olympics, or the first Olympics told in 140 characters or less. It has been said that “access” is the unofficial motto of this year’s games, where no story will go untold. Facebook and Twitter are already bracing for what should be the most tagged, tweeted, and posted event in history.
Whatever you’re interested in-the torch run, the 26 distinct sports, the Olympic venues, the athletes, or just the competition and drama-you’ll have more access to this year’s games than ever before and librarians need to pack their bag of online tricks to help those who want to “pursue personal and aesthetic growth” (AASL Standard 4).
There are tons of stories our patrons want to know about, starting with the historic Olympic torch run that began in Athens and is currently winding its way through Great Britain, accompanied by parades, concerts, and fanfare.
Interested in the music? The musical group Muse was selected to compose the official Olympic theme song. Two days after the U.K. prog rockers released the “epic rock anthem” Survival, it already had nearly half a million downloads!
There’s a competition for everyone as you explore 26 medal sports, including those often forgotten ones like table tennis, judo, and canoeing. Architects and engineers will love the 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium, arenas, and brand-new venues like the BMX track or handball arena.
Of course the athletes themselves are the biggest story, and social media has given us closer access to them than ever. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has created the amazing Athletes’ Hub, an aggregator that not only provides addresses and posts for Facebook and Twitter for almost every competitor, but will also host live chats with questions from the public during the games. NBC has already hosted live Google Huddle interviews with Olympians like soccer star Megan Rapinoe.
Since more than 10,000 athletes have access to social media accounts, the IOC has a concise set of social media guidelines, such as posting no videos or results and requiring that entries be written in the first-person, diary style. Failure to comply was heard loud and clear by Nick D’Arcy and Kenrick Monk, two Australian swimmers who posted a photo of themselves with firearms. D’Arcy and Monk were banned from using social media during the games and will be sent home after their competition before the Closing Ceremonies.
That being said, Facebook will be busy as the official London 2012 Facebook page serves as portal for the pages of hundreds of athletes and teams. The BBC will use Facebook to broadcast up to 24 streams of live events in England. Ad advertisers such as Coca-Cola, Cadbury, Visa, and BP are beefing up their Facebook and social media campaigns and official sponsor MacDonald’s will post user-generated content in its ads.
NBC is the official U.S. broadcast network but will also live stream all sports online. London 2012 is the official website and twitter handle, and it’ll also have its own YouTube channel. There will also be lots of country pages like Team Great Britain. But why stop there? Visitors can also create their own online Olympic news sources, using applications like Paper.li, Tumblr, and Storify. There are several smart phone and tablet applications worth looking into, too.
What’s in it for educators? Lots, but the best website hands down, is Get Set London! Check this site out for information and incredible activities for both young people and educators.
OK, that’s my brief report on this incredible list of online learning and interactive opportunities to boost your enjoyment of the London 2012 Olympics. There are so many things to enjoy, and I didn’t even touch the wealth of information about the Paralympics games. So get out there, start searching and build those resources for your patrons!
Phil Goerner, teacher librarian, Silver Creek High School, Longmont CO
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