Up Close and Personal at the Olympics

A lot has been written about this particular Olympics being the first "Web 2.0 Olympics." Considering that the Olympics happen every 4 years, it's not surprising that consumer generated media hasn't overtaken the games before now. On the other hand, it is surprising as the games are happening in China and most westerners see China as a restrictive state. Our own experiences in China reveal how much social media conversation and activity there really is. Pictures, videos, and blogs tell a different story than our media would suggest.   They also offer access to a world's worth of personalities.

I love an insider's view of the Olympics. Here are my favorite bits (many made possible by our work with Lenovo - aggregated at Voices of the Olympic Games):

Athletes' photo galleries: when they all marched into the stadium at the beginning of the month, they snapped lots of photos from the parade. Now we can all see them (see Carissa Gump - US Weightlifter left). Flickr: See some neat in-the-stands and on-the-floor shots from Lenovo's team here. 

Blogs: Heather Patri - US Women's Water Polo gives us the skinny on her experiences in the athlete's lounge. Read Josiah NG - track cyclist for Malyasia - his  frank assesment fo his own performance.

Rohit's Video Blog: A walk through of the Olympic Athletes Village - enjoy a behind the scenes stroll on a rainy day last week and visit the special athletes-only store (yum - merch!)