That's why Twitter is cool. I think it was around for the 2008 summer games (which people seem to like way more), but it probably wasn't big enough yet to have any kind of impact. Now, with the tweets of participating athletes, it gives things a new spin. Coupled with a recent press conference about not being able to participate, Lindsay Vonn tweeted about having to take a "bunch of painkillers." Although it seems very surface, such insight to athletes lives gives their followers a personal connection to the games. This, especially for the big name athletes, is helpful in a lot of ways. Ratings, because if people feel more connected to it, they'd tune in. Advertisers must love it, because it's a whole new, free in some regards, platform. Finally, fans love it -- either devoted or just "here for the party" kind of fans -- because there's a new 15 minutes of fame batch of celebrities allowing more of their lives to be displayed more intimately.
Interesting stuff. This is actually the first year in a while I didn't watch the opening ceremonies in any real sense. As for celebrities and Twitter (or social networking in general), I posit this: Do we really want to know every detail of the lives of those we admire?
ReplyDeleteI don't have a Twitter account or anything but I would like to see some of the athletes' tweets. Especially how they act after they lose or don't perform well.
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