AdAge. Olympic athletes are using Twitter to coordinate an online rebellion against the International Olympic Committee's rules on social media, claiming that restrictions on advertising are ultimately affecting their performance by obstructing sponsor relationships. In order to protect sponsorship dollars, the IOC's Social Media, Blogging and Internet Guidelines' Rule 40 limits athletes competing in the Olympic Games from appearing in advertising during and shortly before the games in order to help prevent ambush marketing. U.S. track and field athletes are leading the campaign against Rule 40, using the hashtag #WeDemandChange. ESPN reporter Darren Rovell argued, "The IOC argues Rule 40 protects the investment of those who sponsor the games.
It does. Dawn Harper, a 100-meter hurdler, has been tweeting photos to make her point, including one of her hairdryer with "Rule 40" tape stuck over its brand name and another with the Rule 40 tape stuck over her mouth. Two days ago, Mr. Ms. Some Olympians Chafe at IOC's Social Media Rules. For some of the athletes competing at the Summer Olympics later this month, certain rules about what they can and cannot share over social media from London feel stifling and overbearing. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) generally encourages social media use by participants and fans, yet only allows tweets, blogs and posts to other social networks in "a first-person, diary-type format," according to the IOC's official guidelines.
Sharing video from the Olympic Village is also forbidden, and athletes are required to obtain permission from their peers before posting photos they snap of other athletes. These rules are in stark contrast to the robust social and digital strategy that the IOC is implementing for the London 2012 brand. In addition to event live streams, the IOC has official Twitter, Facebook and YouTube accounts.
The IOC mobile app will even provide news and event results to fans in real time. IOC Social Media Blogging and Internet Guidelines-London. Why the Olympic Games Social Media Policy Failed. InShare109 Guest point by Eric Schwartzman (@ericschwartzman) on why he believes the Social Media Policy at the 2012 London Olympics failed First off, social media could have at least partially erased the advantage that some state-sponsored “full-time amateur athletes” from Eastern Bloc countries enjoy over self-financed amateurs from Western countries.
But unfortunately the social media gag order by the IOC neutered that chance by restricting athletes from sharing posts that mention their sponsors on Facebook, Twitter, or anywhere else online. Here’s the clause: “Participants and other accredited persons are not permitted to promote any brand, product or service within a posting, blog or tweet…” [PDF] Since state-funded athletes don’t need to raise money from private enterprise to support their Olympic bids, social media could have given those who do a way to rally funds. The financial pressure on US Olympians is no joke. The take away is this. In the US, we enjoy freedom of speech. Brand police give Olympic rings the hook, but Nike won't give in. It is now a crime to advertise using the Olympic rings in London in some cases, and in other, lesser instances, it's punishable with fines of $30,000 or more.
So, if you’re in London and you’re not an official sponsor of the Olympics, do yourself a favor, take down those rings in the window even if you happen to have the word Olympic in your name. Earlier this week, the New York Times wrote about the “excessive zeal” with which the London organizing committee has been accused of enforcing the laws, which is of little surprise considering the committee has the authority of the British Parliament behind it. And then today the Herald Sun reported details about that zeal in some surprising forms. Touché Nike. Touché. Michael del Castillo Upstart Business Journal Technology & Innovation Editor Email Michael earned his BA from Mercer University, along the way excavating a Roman bathhouse with the American School of Archaeology.
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Posted: Tuesday, August 7, 2012 12:45 am Susan P. Comment Print Share Share. Pirate Olympics: 5 Alternative Ways to Watch the Olympics Online — Online Video News. YouTube et Dailymotion privés de Jeux Olympiques. Envie de voir ou de revoir le combat de boxe du Français Alexis Vastine, dont on dit la victoire volée au bénéfice de l'Ukrainien Taras Shelestiuk (qui affrontera en demi-finale un boxeur britannique à la victoire elle-même contestée) ? N'espérez pas la trouver sur YouTube, pas même sur la chaîne officielle des Jeux Olympiques qui choisit ses rediffusions (et quand elles sont disponibles, l'embed est interdit). Mise sous pression par le Comité International Olympique (CIO), la filiale de Google exerce un contrôle très étroit sur les vidéos publiées par les internautes, et supprime automatiquement toute diffusion des épreuves des JO. Même les extraits de quelques secondes sont purgés. Sachant que YouTube reçoit chaque minute plus de 72 heures de vidéo, on mesure l'exploit.
Idem pour regarder la course d'Usain Bolt, impossible à voir sur YouTube dans une qualité normale. Il faut ruser pour laisser une vidéo filtrer : Sur la plateforme française Dailymotion, le constat est le même. London 2012 Has WiFi Police to Shut Down WiFi Hotspots. It's a hotspot hunter! The International Olympic Committee recently revealed that mobile hotspots are not allowed at this year's Olympics.
While you are permitted to use a your smartphone or tablet inside the venues, personal or private access points, along with 3G hubs and a ton of other items, are not allowed inside. Of course, when this news got around, many people wondered how the IOC planned to stop people from setting up their own WiFi hotspots. The answer is this guy: Twitter user Sadao Turner posted the picture above along with the caption, "Something you won't see on TV, this is the Olympics WiFi Police. We emailed the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games about the picture and they in turn directed us to the UK telecoms watchdog Ofcom, which is looking after the WiFi at the Games.
The ban on WiFi hotspots likely has to do with efforts to keep interference and overloaded networks to a minimum. Image Credit: @SadaoTurner.