Social Media’s Olympic Torch Pandemic
Posted: Friday 06 July, 2012
Alex Smith
Pete, George and I were on our way back from a client meeting on Monday when we encountered the Olympic Torch coming through Market Harborough – naturally, full of curiosity, we stopped and decided to hang around momentarily for a glimpse of the torch (after all, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity).
Although the big event was over in what seemed like a few moments, I managed to capture a few pictures – including the awesome one of George below rocking a Peppa Pig umbrella – but what really stuck with me was the sheer size of the turn out for the event and the thought of what the effect of that audience would be.
I’m pretty sure I was one of many people in the crowd uploading my pictures of the event to Twitter and Facebook from my smartphone – the multiplication of which surely means that regardless of if you actually saw the torch or not, you must have some sort of social media connection with the event at some point.
At first I was sceptical of what is so great about the Torch journey – sure, it’s a great tradition, but it’s now also a huge promotional tool for the games, amplified through social media. It’s almost perfectly localised too, making it more relevant to more people. It’s by no means a new idea, but still just as effective. This is just one of the many ways that this year’s Olympics are likely to be promoted.
Besides, anything that gives the opportunity for pictures like that one of George is great in my book.
