How soon until the social media Olympics is over? #notsoonenough



Contributing Writer
Photo: Hangover Credit: Steve Knight


I’m seriously over the “social media Olympics.”  In a previous post I hinted at the fact that I thought the scope of integration was over the top (and I was right), but two days into the Olympics I’m sick of the overshares from the athletes and I’m really tired of the coverage pretending that little things are huge transgressions (Michael Phelps thinks that the Olympic swim caps are gaudy – oh no!).

Oh, You CRAZY Olympians!

Hope Solo, the goalkeeper for the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team sent a nasty tweet calling out soccer commentator Brandi Chastain over a comment that she made about the U.S. women’s soccer team, grading their performance an A-minus.  The problem: Brandi Chastain is one of the most accomplished women’s soccer players in U.S. and world (in fact the two played together for four years on the U.S. National Team).  In a subsequent tweet, Solo states that soccer has changed since Chastain played, which is partially true – the U.S. was a more successful team when Chastain was active.

So, we can tell that Hope Solo has very high expectations where grading is concerned.  She also doesn’t take criticism very well or have a filter between her head and mouth, but she’s hardly alone. When the British women’s soccer team lost on penalty kicks in a match last year it’s players took to Twitter to address their coach.  How apropos to have a social media Olympics for athletes that feel more comfortable addressing someone they see everyday on Twitter rather than talk to them directly.

Et tu, Lolo?

Lolo Jones, who I identified in a previous post as one of the most apt Olympians when it comes to social media came under fire when she tweeted this:

The press wrote the she was insensitive to the victims of the Colorado shooting, which is extraordinarily unfair.  She clearly isn’t writing to make light of the shootings, but is talking in the context of target shooting about guns.  That may be perceived as insensitive by some, but LJ is from Louisiana, a state where 44% of people have guns.   It really is all about context, and Jones certainly doesn’t deserve the criticism that she is getting in the press.

More than words.

The social media Olympics reminds me of a guy I used to play guitar with.  He kept insisting that the song “More than Words” was a song about a guy trying to coax a girl into sex.  I thought it was a pretty dumb comment, but he kept finding ways to offer the same insight over and over again.  I finally stopped hanging out with him, and I didn’t miss him at all.

That’s how I’ll feel when the social media Olympics are over.  Until then, more of the same…..

 

Jim Dougherty

Jim Dougherty

Writer and chief of miscellany at leaderswest.com

I aspire to give people something to think about rather than tell them what to do. My favorite Google Alert is “social media research,” I am increasingly compelled by Gen Z, and I appreciate good writers agnostic of where they write. At one time I was Kred’s 12th most influential social media blogger and Klout’s most influential person on the topic of David Hasselhoff. Transplant from Seattle living in Cincinnati. Haven’t entirely adopted the local sports teams yet.

Jim Dougherty

@jimdougherty

Writer about social media and tech at Leaders West, I also tweet as @leaderswest.

Infographic: How to optimize photos for Facebook’s News Feed http://t.co/6OkhbTRkb0 – 13 hours ago

Jim Dougherty

Jim Dougherty

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