Social Media and the Olympics: Change, Social Media and London 2012

Pinkerton Lecture 2008

Using Social Media to Inspire Change(Slideshare users – full text in notes)

Alex BalfourHead of New Media, London 2012alex.balfour@london2012.comTwittter: balfFlickr: awbalfour

“The web is more a social creation than a technical one. I designed it for a social effect —

to help people work together — and not as a technical toy.”

Tim Berners-LeeWeaving The Web: The Original Design and Ultimate Destiny of the World Wide Web"

Contents

1 What is “social media” • Social media explained• The impact of social media

2

Inspiring change• Harnessing change• Our model

3

London 2012 Games• Scale• Vision

4 Questions

Social media are primarily Internet- and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings.

wikipedia

“people having conversations

Online”

11.2 million articles

14 hours of video uploaded every minute

52% uploaded photos

83% watched video online39% uploaded video

57 % have set up a profile

Image courtesy Yoz Graeme

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yoz/172282431/

<xxxGirlygirlxxx> Thank you for listening to me.<xxxGirlygirlxxx> You know your a really good listener.<xxxGirlygirlxxx> Sweety please say something.<Sandaedar> Ok I'm back.

“It is difficult, indeed dangerous, to underestimate the huge changes this revolution

will bring or the power of developing technologies to build and destroy not just

companies but whole countries”

Rupert MurdochAddress to the The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers, March 2006

Social media

• Email 37 years• Online forums (usenet) 29 years• Chat 20 years • Web 14 years • Internet telephony 13 years• Web Ecommerce 13 years• Social networking sites 13 years• Ebay 13 years• Online video 11+ years• Myspace 10 years• Google 10 years• Wikipedia 8 years

Intro of tech

Implied versus Human Penetration Growth (UK)

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

140%

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Implied

Human

“these tools have become technologically boring enough to become socially interesting”

Clay Shirky, Here comes everybody

“Thinking about where you find information for products, brands and services that you buy. Please can you rate them in terms of how trust worthy the information provided typically is?

Where 10 = Very trustworthy and 1 = Not at all trustworthy” Global Average

“Approximately how many people do you stay in contact with in your personal life through the follow means?”,

0 20 40

Brazil

A ver age number of c onnec ti ons mai ntai ned

0 20 40

Japan

A ver age number of c onnec ti ons mai ntai ned

New media - current trends

Internet trends:– 25% of the world online by 2012 (+44%)*– 17 countries will have > 60% broadband penetration by 2012, UK 58 to 74%** – BT to introduce fibre optic broadband by 2012,Govt “Home Access” plan– Online advertising spend X2 by 2012*; online spend > TV in UK 2008***

Mobile trends:– – Mobile penetration 100% in W. Europe - data revenue > voice Q1 2008****– 25% use mobile internet growing to 50% by 2012***– 41% use mobile to take photos but other features less than 20% use*****

*Jupiter ** Gartner *** Deloitte ****T mobile *****Ofcomm

Adapted from KPMG 2003, 2010 National Broadband Targets Maintaining Australia’s Competitiveness, 31th July 2006, Internet Industry Association

“Western countries” in 2012

Rest of the world in 2012

Contents

1 What is “social media” • Social media explained• The impact of social media

2

Inspiring change• Harnessing change• Our model

3

London 2012 Games• Scale• Vision

4 Questions

6 July 2005

The World’s Biggest Event

205 nations

15,000 athletes

70,000 volunteers

20,000 media

9 million tickets

170+ venues

26 Olympic events

20 Paralympic events

“The Olympics has the power to change the world. It has the power to unite peoplein a way that little else does.”

Nelson Mandela

London 2012’s vision:“To use the power of the Games to Inspire

Change”

What do we mean by change• change in people’s lives• change in sport participation• change in attitudes to disability- change in the communities across London,

particularly East London- change in sustainability and protecting the

world we live in- change in how everyone participates and

engages with the Games- change in how cities host the Olympic and

Paralympic Games

Contents

1 What is “social media” • Social media explained• The impact of social media

2

Inspiring change• Harnessing change• Our model

3

London 2012 Games• Scale• Vision

4 Questions

Intreact image

“Thinking about where you find information for products, brands and services that you buy. Please can you rate them in terms of how trust worthy the information provided typically is?

Where 10 = Very trustworthy and 1 = Not at all trustworthy” Global Average

Think image

“computers are platforms for self expression rather than well behaved appliances“

Yochai Benkler. Wealth of Networks

Used social neworks very well – compare mccain and obama facebook etc

Used social neworks very well – compare mccain and obama facebook etc

• 21 months

• 35,000 groups

• 200,000 events

• millions of calls

• $160m in <$200 (ref guardian arrticle from 7 Nov)

•Yes we can bvideo views and speeches

Obama

“What has made My.BarackObama unique hasn't been the technology itself, but the

people who used the online tools to coordinate offline action.  My.BarackObama

has always been focused on using online tools to make real-world connections between people who are hungry to change our politics

in this country.“

Chris Hughes

Join in – and (try to) be credible

Inspire more conversation

Rally support

Simple new media model

New media products and services(enablers that help the business do things better and cheaper)

New media model

User data

Acq

uisitio

n

RevenueMessages

New media products and services(enablers that help the business do things better and cheaper)

?

New media model

User data

Acq

uisitio

n

Revenue

Activatio

n

Retention

Communications(website and

emails)

Games time results

site/services

Functional Areasites

and services…

Acq

uisitio

n

Exploiting Handover and starting the journey towards 2012

Web and new media results - traffic

- Traffic twenty times the level of brand launch – previous benchmark

- 10.4m page views, 1.75m unique users

- 1.5m video views (more than olympic.org), 15% on youtube

- 44% of video views on youtube under 24

- Hundreds of positive comments across blogs, forums, our channel

youtube age profiles for L2012 content: source youtube

“Well done if I’m allowed to ask –who is actually controlling this account? Is it like an Olympics person? I'm surprised to get a reply I’m only 14”

Web and new media results – public response

- “celebration” was #3 video in UK at peak on youtube

- 1000 comments, #91 most responded to video all time on youtube

- 500+ photos and video submitted to our celebration map via flickr and youtube

- 100k new sign ups to news/volunteering: total 350k+

New media model - handover

100k applications(50% existing) “viral”

100k additional users

Acq

uisitio

n

Referral

Activatio

nA

cqu

isition

New media model

User data

Acq

uisitio

n

RevenueRetention

New media products and services(enablers that help the business do things better and cheaper)

Activatio

n

Referral

New media model – 2012

Communications(website and

emails)

Games time results

site/services

TicketingMerchandiseVolunteering

…

User data

Referral

Retention Revenue

Acq

uisitio

n

Activatio

nA

cqu

isition

Sponsorship

Which could be the key to accessing their stories in physical/digital spacesat all events, up to and including the Games. Literally part of the brickwork...

Contents

1 What is “social media” • Social media explained• The impact of social media

2

Inspiring change• Harnessing change• Our model

3

London 2012 Games• Scale• Vision

4 Questions