OLYMPICS /
Olympic Life
Digital revolution could serve as Olympics' salvation
Updated: 2008-07-25 09:16
Controlled blogging
US Internet users viewed more than 12 billion online videos in May, according to digital research firm Comscore, a 45 percent increase over the year before. About one-third of those were on YouTube, owned by Google.
But fans expecting to visit the site to catch up on the day's action in Beijing next month are likely to be disappointed because the IOC is having problems adjusting to the share-it-all ethos of the Internet.
In company with other major sports federations, the IOC keeps a very tight rein on its showpiece occasions and views video postings on sites like YouTube as a threat to its rights holders, who can broadcast on television and a number of digital platforms.
The IOC uses video-fingerprinting technology and Web-crawling (monitoring) techniques to prevent unauthorized content being uploaded and track illegal content on Web sites.
However, it has acknowledged the young's infatuation with social networking sites and the increasing power of citizen journalism.
In February, the IOC said it would allow blogging by athletes for the first time in next month's Games. In 2010, the 3,500 competitors at the inaugural Youth Olympics will be urged to have their own blogs.
"Technology is the key enabler for the Olympic Games," said Alexander Vronski, technology vice-president for the Sochi Winter Games of 2014. "New media can engage nations."