As the world’s top athletes competed in London this week, a chorus of complaints—not to mention a badminton controversy—was heard among the Olympic audience.
Viewers continued to hammer NBC for its tape-delay coverage, while eight badminton players were disqualified for throwing their matches.
But the Social Games, as their being called, has seen its share of triumphs on social media—
five of which we highlighted on Monday. Here are nine more from the first week of the London Games:
On Instagram, the 2012 Olympics look amazing with a vintage sheen.
The popularity of photo-sharing service Instagram is surging, with
more than 80 million people using the platform. Among those users are the Olympic athletes and those attending the games.
While Twitter is the belle of the Social Games ball, Instagram has shined as a way for people to share images from the events. For instance, there’s this shot of the Royal Couple, courtesy of E! Online:
And
this one of former U.S. Olympians Shawn Johnson and Shaun White:
And
this one of the current U.S. women’s gymnastics team:
Team U.S.A. catches Bieber Fever
The teen music sensation might be Canadian, but he was all about the American women this week. And when Missy Franklin secured her place atop the podium in the 100-meter backstroke, she received more than a medal. She also got
this tweet from the Biebs:
The Olympian’s
response: “I just died! Thank you!”
Later in the week, the heartthrob was up to the same tricks when he
wished the Fab Five congratulations on their gold in the women’s gymnastics competition, although team member Jordyn Wieber might like it more if he were to make her Jordyn Bieber.
The London Eye tracks Twitter sentiment.
The famous Ferris wheel in the U.K. capitol—
the London Eye—received a social media makeover for the games, courtesy of Olympic sponsor EDF Energy. The company transformed the landmark into an enormous sentiment-tracking device that displays whether U.K.-based tweets about the games are positive or negative.
When the London Eye turns a shade of yellow, it means the tweets are skewing positive. Purple indicates the tweets are negative. Despite the hullabaloo surrounding the games, an EDF employee told
The Wall Street Journal that the tweets have been overwhelming positive.
At the games, Tumblr is no longer a title for the gymnasts.
Are you looking for examples of how your organization can use blogging service Tumblr? Look to the Olympics. Its
Tumblr account is a collection of images from the games.
There are four categories of pictures on this Tumblr, including “Olympic Moments,” which features countless stunning shots of the action in London, and “Faces of Olympians,” which aren’t—as you might imagine—close-ups of the athletes mid-competition. Instead, they’re the kind of portrait-style shots popular among wedding planner with a penchant for photo booths.
Take a look
here.
Michael Phelps and Allison Schmitt share some Twitter love
While a world of spectators watched in wonder of Michael Phelps’ record-breaking 19th career medal—making him the most-decorated Olympian in history—the all-star swimmer seemed to be more boastful of his training partner Allison Schmitt’s accomplishments with her win in the women’s 200-meter freestyle.
Phelps
tweeted: “@arschmitty I knew u were gonna win!!!! I'm more proud of that than anything else right now!!!! Love u scmhitty!!!!!”
The support must be mutual, with Schmitt also showing some Twitter love for her pool lane pal:
President Obama congratulates medalists in 140 characters (or less).
As Michael Phelps congratulated his teammates, President Obama gave the swimming icon a virtual pat on the back when he tweeted:
The “bo” at the end indicates the president sent the tweet himself. (Perhaps someone on his social media team should’ve told him to include @MichaelPhelps in the tweet.)
Meanwhile, the White House Twitter feed
let its followers know that the president called the women’s gymnastics team to congratulate them, and included a picture of the Commander in Chief on the phone to prove it:
Even the cameras have Twitter feeds—and they catch uncensored moments
For a different (visual) perspective on the games, follow the tweets of the various cameras covering the events. Yes, the
cameras, which are capturing not just one moment, but a plethora of them from the Olympics. You can follow the
Table Cam, the
Mat Cam, the
Basketball Cam, and the
Pool Cam—which caught a little live nudity during NBC's live broadcast of one of the women’s water polo matches.
Men’s all-around medalist Danell Leyva’s “Lucky Towel” becomes a social media star
American gymnast Danell Leyva was nearly in last place and came back to claim the bronze. That’s a lot of talent—and a little bit of good luck. It’s no wonder
his towel has more than 11,000 Twitter followers, not to mention
its own Tumblr, too.
What’s next? A new marshmallow shape in Lucky Charms cereal.
The best commentary about the Olympics. Period.
Forget the media covering the games. For commentary and coverage on what’s happening, follow the Twitter feed of actor
Samuel L. Jackson. For example:
Need we say more?
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