Post-Olympic hangover has surely begun to kick in, as millions of Olympic followers have returned to their everyday lives without the heart-pumping, jaw dropping daily Olympic events to look forward to. Although life never seems as lustrous after the Olympics, 2012 may prove to be the most difficult year to get through this post Olympic break up.
Why should this year be any different then the last? Not only were we capable of viewing a seemingly endless amount of coverage on networks like NBC and BCC, which together aired over 7,500 plus hours of coverage, but we also have had our social graphs flooded with Olympic sized news and data concerning the London Olympics. Every site seemed to pay homage to the Olympics, as Google displayed Olympic themed graphics on their homepage, Twitter feeds buzzed with commentary on the games and Via.Me dedicated an entire profile to memorable Olympic images. It would seem that the Olympics have become more popular this year than years in the past, but the reality is that the games haven’t become more popular they just demonstrate the power of social sharing across the Open Web.
During the 17-day period, over 306 billion items were shared across the Open Web, with Facebook and Twitter following behind at 102 billion and 5 billion shares. With a limitless number of ways to share, it seems impossible to think that there was an Olympic moment that wasn’t captured and then sent to every friend and family member. Particularly, Mckayla Maroney may be wishing that she smiled a little more as thousands of Memes flooded the web with “Mckayala is not impressed” as the slogan. NBC may be wishing that they focused more on real time news coverage as #NBCFail was created by angry users who were dismayed by the delay time between real time and the news coverage.
Social sharing has developed so rapidly over the last several years, and the 2012 Olympics ultimately showcase this change. Followers of events like the Olympics no longer want to just wait and watch the events on their televisions; they want to feel as if they are sitting in the stands watching the events themselves. They want to be able to discuss and interact with other followers, sharing news, commentary and jokes about the events. This level of social interactivity showcases the possibilities of real time sharing. To illustrate the power of the social interactivity that happened around the 2012 Olympics, check out this infographic by RadiumOne:
The 2012 London Olympic Content Marketing Report is out. See who the winners (and losers) were! http://www.percussion.com/marketing-blog/20120815-the-olympic-content-marketing-report