With more than 10,000 athletes and emotions running high it was inevitable that the greater access we gain through social media would trip up some of those at the London Olympics.
Yesterday Greek triple jumper Voula Papachristou was removed from her country’s team after a racist tweet quickly spiralled out of control.
Papachristou had previously tweeted messages about a far right political party in Greece but it was a supposed joke about immigrants that prompted the authorities to ban her and also to prohibit any member of the Greek team from using social media to comment on anything other than the Games until their conclusion.
The Irish boxing team agreed a self imposed withdrawal from social media for the games as well in order to focus entirely on events in the ring.
Apprehension among authorities about the use of twitter and facebook is based partly on fear of bringing the games into disrepute but also on the need to protect against marketing outside of the traditional channels which may impact on sponsor engagement at the highest level.
In reality social media brings a world of opportunity for competitors to engage with fans and for companies to produce a deeper level of an effective relationship with those they endorse.  The one thing that is difficult is to control the medium.
Coca Cola’s facebook presence is one of the largest in the world yet it is run independently of the company by a couple of individuals who Coke recognised it was better to work with rather than against.
Paddy Power bookmakers won more publicity yesterday when the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games withdrew a complaint against advertising which we wrote about yesterday.
The English Premier League has drawn up guidelines for clubs and players about the benefits and the dangers of social media.  The advice covers endorsement and confidential information as well as the potential penalties players could face if posting ‘improper’ material.
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