Thanks to Jeff Lee’s blog post “London 2012 gets social media while Vancouver 2010 falters“, I saw this slide deck by Alex Balfour, the Head of New Media for London 2012 where he sets the table and drafts a plan of action for encouraging crowd coverage of the Games.
I can’t help but feeling that Vancouver is missing a huge opportunity by not planning and evangelizing new media – with a diverse creative and info tech sector, it’s a shame.
Anyhow, i saw this great twitter from @stuartgh in London who saw Mr. Balfour’s presentation:
Just been to hear a talk on using social media to inspire change at the 2012 Olympics. Fascinating. And I ate two very nice biscuits. 3:19 PM Nov 26th from web
I love tasty biscuits! Later he puts forth his vision, thusly:
To creatively use social media to generate a people-led Olympics, rather than a government-sponsored games. London ain’t Beijing baby! 12:47 PM Nov 27th from web
So here’s Mr. Balfour’s slidedeck (btw, he’s @balf on twitter). His complete notes are at: “Using Social Media to Inspire Change” from 2008 Pinkerton Lecture, on November 26 2008 to the Institute of Engineering and Technology in London.
For the record, i am not personally an Olympic resister, i am a documentarian & an enthusiast of stories, international relations and winter sports. I am disheartened and flummoxed by some of the practices of the IOC and VANOC but feel engaging in respectful dialouge is key to finding common ground.
I am also an advocate of media democracy and also enjoy helping people who have a heard time finding coverage in the mainstream media find outlet for their concerns.
On November 20, 2008, I recorded the Olympic Resistance Network press conference including separate clips for remarks by Chris Shaw and Joan Morelli, at the Anti-Poverty Committee office in the Vancouver’s downtown eastside.
Outside of the VANOC worldwide press briefing, independent media maker Dave Thorvald Olson answers questions about the Olympics, protests, and tension between social concerns and international events.
He spiels forth about peace, pacifism, understanding, love of winter sports, copyright, rumoured riots, the importance of dialouge and respect and conversation. Also he briefly recounts his experiences covering Olympic Games from a grassroots point of view.
Thunderbird Arena on UBC Campus will act as secondary hockey venue for 2010 Vancouver Olympics and primary for Paralympics Sledge hockey. I took in a UBC collegiate match to see the improvement to the venue. Note the eco-friendly Olympia “Olympic Edition” ice re-surfacing machine and though there is a re-sizeable ice surface, games will be played on the smaller NHL dimensions rather than International size.
