London Games to be first social media Olympics - phys.org
The London Games will be the most tweeted, liked and tagged in history, with fans offered a never before seen insider's view of what many are calling the social media Olympics, or the "socialympics."
Hash tags, (at) signs and "like" symbols will be as prevalent as national flags, Olympic pins and medal ceremonies. Some athletes may spend more time on Twitter and Facebook than the playing field.
Mobile phones have become smarter, laptops lighter and tablet devices a must-have for technology lovers — meaning social-savvy fans, whether watching on television or inside the Olympic stadium itself, will be almost constantly online.
Organizers expect more tweets, Facebook posts, videos and photos to be shared from London than any other sports event in history. The 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver offered just a small glimpse of what's to come.
"Vancouver was just the first snowflake," said Alex Hout, the International Olympic Committee's head of social media. "This is going to be a big snowball."
Twitter is already braced for a surge of traffic. Launched in 2006, it has become a key outlet for sports fans to trade messages during live events.
Users sent 13,684 tweets per second during a Champions League match between Barcelona and Chelsea in April, a record volume of tweets for a sporting event — busier even than the 2012 Super Bowl. Chances are that will be one of the records broken in London.
"It could be the 100-meter final or something unexpected," said Lewis Wiltshire, Twitter U.K.'s head of sport.
At the last Summer Olympics in Beijing in 2008, Twitter had about 6 million users and Facebook 100 million. Today, the figure is 140 million for Twitter and 900 million for Facebook.
"In Sydney (2000) there was hardly any fast Internet, in Athens (2004) there were hardly any smartphones, in Beijing hardly anyone had social networks," said Jackie-Brock Doyle, communications director of London organizing committee LOCOG. "That's all changed. Here, everyone has all that and will be consuming the games in a different way."
Later this month, at trials in Calgary for Canada's Olympic track and field team, athletes will even wear Twitter handles on their bibs — encouraging fans to send messages of support as they race.
Sponsors have also taken their Olympic campaigns online. Coca-Cola, Cadbury, Visa and BP are among those using Facebook to reach younger consumers. Samsung is even offering to paint the faces of Internet users with their national flag — virtually, of course.
"They key difference from four years ago is that now almost everyone has a smartphone, which means everyone can participate in real time," said Adam Vincenzini, an expert at Paratus Communications, a London-based PR and social media marketing agency. "You used to have to be sitting at your desk to access various social media platforms. Now you can have your phone or tablet on your lap while you watch, whether that's at the pub or the stadium."
The IOC, with 760,000 Twitter followers and 2.8 million on Facebook, will host live chats from inside the Olympic village with athletes, allowing the public to pose questions using social media accounts. It has already created an online portal, called the Athletes' Hub, which will collate posts from their Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Under IOC rules, athletes and accredited personnel are free to post, blog and tweet "provided that it is not for commercial and/or advertising purposes" and does not ambush official Olympic sponsors and broadcasters. Social media posts should be written in a "first-person, diary-type format."
What about spectators using their phones and iPads to take photos and video?
"There is no problem with photo sharing," Hout said. "We encourage it. But monetizing is not allowed."
"People are allowed to film. They're allowed to do that on their phones," he said. "The thing that we ask is that content is not uploaded to public sites."
The reason is to protect the exclusivity of the broadcasters who shell out big money for the rights. NBC, for example, paid more than $1 billion for the U.S. rights to the London Games.
"We encourage the use of social media. We encourage athletes to engage and to connect," Hout said. "There are some rules to follow, there's no question about it. But we don't police the fans, we don't police the athletes. We don't do that. What we do is we engage."
LOCOG plans to announce new Olympic tie-ups with Twitter, Facebook and Google in coming days. Facebook is launching an Olympic initiative in London on Monday that will group teams, sports, athletes, broadcasters and others in one place.
However, LOCOG has drawn up strict rules for its employees and the 70,000 Olympic volunteers. They have been told not to share their location, any images of scenes in areas that are off limits to the public, or details about athletes, celebrities or dignitaries who they find themselves in contact with.
"We are not stopping people from using social sites," Brock-Doyle said. "We say there are lots of things about your job — procedures, places you'll be and do — that remain confidential. There are elements of your job you can't share with wider groups of people."
Athletes, too, will need to navigate the social media world carefully.
Australian swimmers Nick D'Arcy and Kenrick Monk have already been punished after posting photos of themselves on Facebook in which they cradled pump-action shotguns and a pistol in a U.S. gun shop.
The Australian Olympic Committee ordered them to remove the photos immediately. The swimmers have been banned from using social media for a month starting July 15 and will be sent home the day the Olympic swimming program finishes.
The British Olympic Association has offered advice to its own athletes, suggesting that "a few smiley faces and LOL's (online speak for laugh out loud) will make you seem more approachable and encourage more people to talk and ask you questions." What not to do: "Don't get into disputes with your audience."
British swimmer Rebecca Adlington, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a leading medal contender in London, has spoken out about abuse she has received about her physical appearance from some users on social media sites. She has already blocked the worst offenders from being able to contact her, but insists she won't stop using Twitter, where she trades dozens of messages a day with more than 50,000 followers.
"I'm insecure about the way I look and people's comments do hurt me," Adlington said in a message posted on Twitter.
While some athletes prefer to tune out from social media to concentrate on their competition, others embrace the opportunity to interact with their fans.
"Letting people know what I'm eating, how I'm sleeping, what the venues are like — people want to know what we're going through," U.S. gymnast Jonathan Horton said. "They want to know what it's like going through the experience and what we're up to."
All in 140 characters.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
London 2012: How Zara Phillips reached the Olympics - again - BBC News
In the latest part of our weekly #olympicthursday series on leading British hopes, BBC Olympic sports reporter Ollie Williams profiles eventer Zara Phillips.
"It's not even a conversation that will take place. Zara's on the team, the team are staying in the village, end of story."
Zara Phillips is in line for her Olympic debut at long last, representing Great Britain from a room in the Olympic village - not representing the Royal Family from exclusive lodgings.
"Zara is absolutely a team player," continues Will Connell, performance director for British equestrian sport.
"She doesn't seek the limelight - it's never Zara stirring up the media frenzy, she lets her results do the talking. There's no denying who her mother and grandmother are but she is, first and foremost, an elite equestrian athlete."
Phillips, now 31, has spent a decade proving her talent. A former world champion, she has twice been in contention for the Olympic Games and twice missed out through injury to her horse, Toytown.
This week, she earned nomination to the British Olympic Association as one of five riders in the eventing team for London 2012.
Her third Olympic nomination in succession caps a resurgent 12 months. For a time, it had looked as though carrying the Olympic torch at Cheltenham racecourse was as close to the Games as she might get.
Phillips spent her twenties enjoying remarkable success with Toytown, winning eventing's world title in 2006 and the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award later that year.
But after missing Beijing 2008, Toytown's age began to show. A horse can only go on at the top level for so long and Phillips, tears in her eyes, gave Toytown a public retirement at Gatcombe last year.
"In our sport you're very lucky to find a horse of a lifetime and I found mine relatively early," she told the Daily Telegraph in 2010. "[Toytown] has done everything for me and I owe him the world. Even talking about that horse makes me well up."
With Toytown out of the picture, Phillips had to prove she was no one-horse wonder by finding another challenger and getting them to the top level in time for Olympic selection.
She managed it, in the nick of time, with a horse named High Kingdom - taking him from the most basic of introductory events in Wiltshire five years ago to third place at last week's Bramham horse trials, her last chance to prove the pair had what it takes for the Olympic Games.
"She's been with High Kingdom a long time," says Connell. "She's always been diligent in working hard when it isn't necessarily going right with a horse - she perseveres. She plugged away with him and has done a fantastic job to bring him all the way up through the grades.
"Together, they finished 10th at Burghley last autumn and perhaps that's when he really burst onto the scene. Burghley was probably the result that, to the wider audience, said Zara has a horse that could go to London.
"This is an up-and-coming horse, a horse whose star is in the ascendancy, and [in terms of Olympic selection] that's probably what tipped it over the edge."
After Bramham, Phillips told BBC Sport: "Last year was a big year. He improved massively and came up with the goods [at Burghley]. He's still improving this year and he's a great, fun horse."
Phillips still faces the formality of having the British Olympic Association rubber-stamp her selection to Team GB but, once that happens, she can expect unique challenges as an Olympic team member.
Alongside all the usual pressures athletes place on themselves, the phenomenon of a British Royal competing at a London Olympic Games will inevitably draw intense scrutiny from the media at home and abroad.
"Zara attracts a massive amount of media attention and the challenge will come around that," says Connell.
"The media could impact on Zara's medal-winning chances. It really wouldn't be fair if every time Zara trained, there were a hundred cameramen, and when [German eventing star] Michael Jung's training, there aren't. But that's something Zara's had to cope with throughout her career.
"Part of what makes her successful is her ability to ignore all that. When she won the individual world title, she had to go into an arena with over 50,000 spectators and jump after the Germans had clinched team gold. The pressure and noise were incredible, but she's very cool under pressure. She has a proven championship record."
Asked if her Royal status was a help or hindrance, Phillips once told ITV: "It's a hindrance. People think it was all given to me on a plate and it definitely wasn't.
"But everyone in the sport is good to me. Everyone gets on with it."
Phillips' parents, both Olympic eventers themselves, must know how their daughter feels. The Princess Royal competed at Montreal 1976 and Captain Mark Phillips won team gold at Munich 1972 before returning to win team silver 16 years later in Seoul.
"They very much support me," said Phillips in the same interview. "They've never pushed me but when I started they very much backed me up.
"They're both very knowledgeable, unfortunately. They give me lots of advice - and criticism. But our sport is very different now to when they were competing, which I keep telling them."
There is now an anxious wait to see if Phillips can finally follow in the family footsteps. Will injury strike a third time?
"This is a great challenge we face in equestrian sport," explains Connell. "If a human athlete wakes up one morning and say they're feeling tight in a tendon or whatever, you can tweak the training programme.
"The horse doesn't know the most important competition of its life is coming up, and that introduces a different dynamic. It can't tell you the same things.
"But if they are to win medals in London, the horses have to be very fit and competition-aware. They can't just be put away in a stable now and pulled out at the Games. They will all compete again and that brings the inevitable risk of a slight injury."
As Phillips said ahead of Beijing 2008, before Toytown's second injury nightmare: "To go with all the other sports would be a great dream, but you still have to get there. One step at a time."
London men stake their place in the fashion spending arena - fashion.telegraph.co.uk
Notable rises in male spending have been reported ahead of London's first men's fashion week, London Collections: Men.
BY Alice Newbold | 14 June 2012
Burberry men's live stream Photo: REX
The reputation of menswear has long been shackled by the image of begrudging males sitting outside female changing rooms on endless, uninspiring weekend quests to department stores. Or the stalwart socks and tie or socks and knitwear combo invariably bought for fathers and grandfathers across the British nation for birthdays and holidays, alike.
Tarnishing the notion that men remain only excited about football, Rihanna and varieties of lager are the American Express Business Insights team. Ahead of London Collections: Men, which launches today, the banking sector conducted a study assessing the aggregated spending behaviour of millions of card members. The trend that emerged was, ironically (and pun-worthy), men's fashion.
READ: London to get its own Men's Fashion Week(end)
The data analytics arm of America Express found that males born after 1982 - "Generation Y" - increased their overall spending on fashion faster than all other generations. Shopping at a heightened rate of 4% year on year, 2011 over 2010, Generation Y whipped out their plastic at twice the rate of the next fastest generation, the "Baby Boomers" (those born between 1945 and 1964).
Tagging the male mentality towards fashion as a basic "famine or feast approach", men, it appears, resist high street splurges in favour of luxury goods, spending 24% more per transaction, though less often, than their female counterparts.
Commenting on Burberry's announcement last month that they had experienced a 26% increase in menswear sales, chief executive of the British heritage brand, Angela Ahrendts said: "In this economic environment, men want to look better, they want to look sharper."
READ: Burberry's Angela Ahrendts: men want to look smart
While Burberry's tailoring and enhanced ranges drove a 26% rise in their menswear sales, the overall year-on-year spending on luxury fashion increased by 5.7% in Generation Y men and 1% in all males. British male shoppers subsequently snubbed mainstream lines decreasing their spending by 1.2%, while women lapped up the high street, spending 0.7% less on luxury goods and 5.7% more on high street fashion fixes.
"There is a reason that London is hosting its first men's fashion week: men in the city are clearly staking their place in the fashion spending arena," affirms Sujata Bhatia, vice president of International Business Insights at American Express.
Vauxhall sponsor England but stop workers from watching the Euros - The Sun
Bosses showed the red card to car factory staff who asked to watch tomorrow’s vital match against Sweden on TV sets.
The gaffers said it would breach “strict health and safety regulations”. They also barred scores of workers at Vauxhall’s plants in Luton, Beds, and Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, from seeing the 1-1 draw with France on Monday.
Outraged staff only saw the result after clocking off.
Ironically, production line workers feature along with England stars like Steven Gerrard and Joe Hart in a glitzy TV ad made by Vauxhall for the Euros.
The firm’s logo is on team jerseys. And the squad visited the Luton factory before the tourney.
Excited staff put up banners saying: “Good luck England from all at Vauxhall.”
One Luton worker angered by the TV ban said yesterday: “Our company is the main sponsor for England yet when it comes to matches we aren’t even allowed to watch.
“We work hard for the company. We’re gutted.”
Scott Boutwood, 35 - whose family worked at Vauxhall for over 50 years - said: "What an own goal. They'll have to reconsider."
Vauxhall said it was “proud” to sponsor England in a deal thought to be worth £6million a year.
But it added: “Strict health and safety regulations do not permit employees working on the production line to be distracted by matches shown on screens. And lines cannot simply be stopped to accommodate match times.”
Nissan has a similar ban at its Sunderland plant.
Is that Christian Bale behind the wheel? Bizarre car pictured whizzing around London looks like it has just driven off the set of new Batman film - Daily Mail
- 60k KTM X-Bow - one of only 30 made - with Kuwaiti number plate was spotted in Knightsbridge
- The area has become the racing car playground of rich Middle Eastern motorists
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This bizarre looking sports car wouldn't look amiss on the set of the latest Batman movie.
But while Cate Blanchett and Christian Bale were filming scenes for Knight of Cups in Venice, California, a mystery man was driving this 'batmobile' around London.
Wearing a Black helmet and full leathers, the driver of this black KTM with a Kuwaiti licence plate seemed very keen to keep his identity a secret as he drove through Hyde Park to Knightsbridge in London earlier today.
Day rider: A mystery man dressed in black was pictured taking this odd looking car for a spin around London
Far from home: The KTM sports car, which generally have a price tage of well over 60,000, has a Kuwait licence plate
The KTM car appears to be an X-Bow model - one of only 30 made, which cost more than 60,000 each.
The completely roofless super car is stripped to the bare basics and aimed at driving purists. It can do 0-60mph in 3.7 seconds and can reach a top speed of 137mph.
Onlooker Justin Thomas, 28, from London, happened to be riding his bike home when he spotted the bizarre contraption and quickly took some snaps of the car as it whizzed past.
He said: 'I just spotted this ridiculous looking car and thought I have to get a photo of it otherwise people won't believe I saw it.
'It was like something out of Knight Rider or Batman. The car would have looked more at home on the set of an action movie rather than in the middle of central London.
Jubilee celebrations: This Lamborghini LP640, emblazoned with the Omani flag on the roof and side, had a picture of the Queen on the front in honour of the monarch's 60 years on the throne
Reckless: An Iraqi playboy has been slammed for driving this Ferrari 599 at up to 120mph around central London streets
'After taking the photo I gave the driver a thumbs up before he revved the engine and sped off.
'Despite having no roof, the driver must have been quite hot as he appeared to be dressed head to toe in black leather.'
Super cars are often spotted in Knightsbridge, the London playground for the rich and famous, and many have customised and decorated individually.
In the run-up to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations, one driver even emblazoned a picture of the Royal family on their Lamborghini.
Meanwhile, many Knightsbridge residents have complained about super racing around London streets at top speeds.
It comes after an Iraqi millionaire was filmed recklessly driving his 200mph super car around London in footage posted on YouTube.
The millionaire show-off was seen speeding through Knightsbridge in his turquoise Ferrari 599 without any regard for the safety of pedestrians and other motorists.
Residents have forged a campaign group and aired their grievances to Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, claiming that police and council have failed to act over these super car racers.
Strangely familiar:The real Batmobile at the Batman Begins premiere in Leicester Square, London
On set: Cate Blanchett and Christian Bale filming scenes for the new Batman film in California
Occupy London Eviction Begins At Finsbury Square Site - huffingtonpost.co.uk
An eviction is under way to move Occupy London protesters from their seven-month occupation of a square in the capital.
The clear out of Finsbury Square in north London was organised by Islington Council after successful court action by the authority to move the group.
The camp, which is made up of around 135 tents and a wooden structure, was set up on the public land of the square in October, as an extension of the Occupy movement's protest in St Paul's Churchyard - which ended in eviction in February.
Two weeks ago a judge heard the protest had caused £20,000 damage to the land, cost the council £26,000 on security, and lost it £12,000 in rent plus income from the square's restaurant which had to close.
There had been an adverse impact on local business and complaints about anti-social behaviour from the camp, which increasingly became a focus for the homeless, and which had no running water or sufficient toilet facilities.
Councillor Paul Convery, Islington Council's executive member for community safety, said: "Finsbury Square is public space for the people of Islington, one of Britain's most deprived boroughs.
"We're returning the square to community use, and it is being cleaned and will soon be reopened to the public for the summer.
"Today's enforcement action was peaceful and low-key, and I'd like to thank the police, our street outreach team, and other partner organisations for their help.
"A number of vulnerable and homeless people have been living in the square. We have been speaking to them and offering advice and support to those who need assistance."
London 2012 Olympics: Double Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie will carry the Olympic Torch - Daily Telegraph
The flame will arrive in Newcastle on Friday night where adventurer Bear Grylls will zip slide off the Tyne Bridge with the torch over the river and on to the Quayside.
To coincide with the arrival of the torch the city has decorated the Tyne Bridge with the Olympic Rings. The aluminium rings are about 25m (80ft) wide and 12m (40ft) high, which makes them the largest set of metal Olympic rings in the UK.
After the torch leads Newcastle it will travel to Sunderland via the Angel of the North before arriving in Gateshead at midday. In the afternoon the torch will then head on towards Hexham, Northumberland, before finishing the day with a celebration in Durham, where BBC presenter Matt Baker will carry the flame.
London’s Olympians at work - Financial Times
June 14, 2012 7:20 pm
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