This year’s Winter Olympics are going to commence in Vancouver Canada today and this year the committee has taken on the online social networking scene with a bang. This year, the committee has focused on the effects of Facebook and used this social network to get people talking about the Olympics. The international Olympic committee has established an official Facebook group that has a (huge) following of more than 1.2 million fans. This fan page gives visitors the opportunity to watch videos, see current updates and click on relevant links. With social networking comes controversy and recently some pictures of the opening ceremony were leaked on Facebook and Twitter. Even though there have been numerous leaks, the ceremony will still be an exciting and thrilling event.

There is not an official Twitter page for the Winter Olympics but one can visit the Verified Olympics list where some of the athletes’ Twitter accounts are listed. This gives die-hard fans the opportunity to follow their favourite athletes online and get some inside knowledge to what they are thinking and feeling.

There are some sports that do not seem to pull in the masses or get as many individuals watching the game as they would for example a rugby game. Hockey for instance. I’m not saying that hockey isn’t a good game; it just doesn’t seem to attract millions of followers. This is set to change however as an America team called the Washington Capitals has become highly popular due to their social networking outreach. Even though they are not viewed on television as much, this team has 95 000 fans on Facebook and 11 000 on Twitter. By using their social networking tools to the fullest extent, this team will gain more ticket sales and therefore have more supporters shouting at the sidelines of their games.

The question remains: will involvement in social networking increase the popularity of sports games and events? Sports have been highly successful in the past without social media and as long as sports remain entertaining for the masses, social media is not needed as a primary source to encourage individuals to attend games and support their favourite team or sporting person. It can however let these sporting experiences be shared with millions as groups can discuss games and post videos and photographs of the events on their social networking sites. Discussion is healthy and we all know that sporting discussions can turn into heated argument in 0.35 seconds, but isn’t that the fun of it anyway?

Related posts:

1. Social media over share: are brands just as obsessed with social media as we are?
2. Social Media Penetration Grows in the UK
3. A merry social media Christmas to you

Social Media and Sports: taking to the field on standing on the sidelines?