Who Can I Pay to Take Over the Olympics Social Strategy?

Whoever gets to carve out a social strategy for the 2012 Olympics, namely this man, is one very lucky person. I would like to take his job.
And I think all Olympics fans would benefit too.

Olympic committee, let me know what PO box to send a check to.

What I’d do

Create a basic structure to organize and steer user generated content. Scheduled twitter chats with athletes, aggregated photo feeds, live tweeting all events, lists of top youtube videos, etc. This structure will only serve to position the Olympics governing body in the center of the huge conversation that’s taking place. They can’t control the conversation, but they can direct it and reward people that are adding to the conversation in meaningful ways.

Highlight Interactions between Athletes and between Countries

It’s a good first step to create a directory of athletes in the Olympics Hub. But I have to follow each person on twitter and filter as I watch the games? I’d rather have scheduled twitter chats with the US swim team, or all the competing swimmers – now that would be interesting. Schedule a food chat with the athletes’ nutritionists, or their trainers, or sports psychologists, or all the athletes’ moms. That’s a conversation I would want to be a part of. It should be live and continuous for the entirety of the games.

Focus on Real Time Images

Visual content defines the Olympics. And there is going to be a firehose of photos and videos taken from all the fans on the sidelines capturing the small moments. Those details – a diver listening to headphones or munching on a bagel pre race, that is what I want to see from social media channels. I go to network TV for the cheesy video montages and panoramic views of the stadium.
These “insider” images should be aggregated into one photo mosaic that updates in real time, and all photos should be shareable from that stream. Sidenote: I’m currently trying out something like this with the Gilt City #LoveYourCityMore campaign.
For the Olympics it would be overwhelming in a really stunning way. I’d create a filter just to see athletes photos. You’d make the AP mad, but hey, you’re getting a whole new generation hooked on the Olympics in a way they understand. That’s worth it.

Instagram photo @Sugarrg

Fascination w/ the Inane

Athletes are extremely talented celebrities – and god knows our collective appetite for inane content about celebrities’ lives.

Off the top of my head I want to see:

athletes hanging out in the olympic village,
the really random sports that never get air time (decathlon, anyone?)
what they eat in the cafeteria,
the intense gym routines
the weirdest warm up outfits
the significant tattoos and jewelry they have
athletes wandering around London, etc. etc.

I could come up with a ton of amazing content I would love to get lost in while watching the games. LET THIS HAPPEN and amplify it.

What I’d Stop Immediately

Don’t over censor the athletes

Australia freaked when two swimmers took photos at a gun shop. If you teach the athletes, coaches and agents the basics of brand management on Facebook. Give them tips on good vs. bad sharing, then your investing in social media for the olympics in the long term. Focus on what to do, not punishing mistakes.

Don’t Gamify the Games

We don’t need badges and unlocked content. We are literally watching games. No other games are needed. Especially when the unlocked content isn’t exactly medal worthy. One example of hidden content is an athlete being asked what her workout routine is, and her response that she can only tell once she retires…

Don’t Under Commit

This GE Facebook campaign held promise. Except there are no actual workout routines from the athletes. What are you supposed to share? 1.2 from this judge.