Vancouver Bloggers and Twitterati: How we’re spending the 2010 Winter Olympics [updated]

With the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics a mere work week away, some of the social media members of Vancouver took a contemplative look at how they’re going to approach the Games and events.

Olympic-ified City

 

Rebecca Bollwit’s website, Miss 604,  is an encyclopedic trove of dates, times, event descriptions, location guides, and Olympic news. Her Vancouver 2010 RSSencapsulates the many events occurring around the Lower Mainland into blog posts featuring Granville Island, the Richmond O Zone, Robson Square, and some of the participating country pavilions, just to highlight a few. Besides her blog, Rebecca can be found  on Twitter tweeting live Olympic coverage.

John Bollwit’s photojournalistic endeavour took him through the city and up the mountains in order to document some of the new, and/or refurbished, locations around Vancouver. In his travels, John covered the new Olympic Line streetcar (and dry erase messaging system), the Downtown Core, the Athletes Village, and Whistler. He also outlined some his feelings about the Olympics in an optimistic blog post that considered the many different–and difficult–issues surrounding the games. John can also be seen on Twitter.

I haven’t forgotten about the politics on the local and worldwide scale. They are always there, and I can’t forget about the issues of homelessness in Vancouver nor the hefty price tag that has come with these games. Nothing I can say in a blog post could answer all of those problems, but I will be watching closely once everything is done to make sure those promises by VANOC are held accountable.
That being said, my hope and dream is to absorb the atmosphere that the games will bring upon Vancouver. I’m not sure where that might lead me, but we’ll ride the wave and end up where we end up. Be it total chaos to amazing opportunities, people, and new friends, I’ve been enlightened with stories by others who have been to games past. It prepares you as much as opens up avenues to all sorts of other questions.
Hummingbird604, Dr Raul Pachego-Vega, posted a brief introduction to The Pride Housethat’s opening this week on Bute and Davie. The House has already caught the media’s attention and is seen increasing global coverage. Raul can also be followed on Twitter.

I have been invited to the opening of Pride House, which will be hosted at Qmunity. The opening is on Thursday February 11th(which sadly, is one of the days I teach, so I am not sure how I’m going to juggle my schedule). But I really want to support this worthy initiative. I find that it’s hard to find any openly-gay Olympians (with the exception of my idol, Matthew Micham, World Diving Champion and Olympic Diving Champion). Qmunity is at 1170 Bute Street, almost corner of Davie. The opening is from 2:00pm to 3:00.

 

Prince George, British Columbia Vancouver 2010 Torch Relay Celebration

Kris Krüg of Static Photography followed the Olympic torch up to Prince George, snowshoed and dog sledded around the Arctic wonderland, and headed back to Vancouver’s metropolis just in time for the torch’s arrival. A consummate Vancouver photographer, Kris captured the city’s key Olympic landmarks — Canada Hockey Place and The Richmond Oval – in beautiful HDR on Flickr and 3d collage on Photosynth. In addition, Kris is actively uploading all Olympic related photos to his Flickr stream to be shared, downloaded, and enjoyed the spirit of Creative Commons. You can follow Kris on Twitter, Flickr and Youtube.

 

Coal Harbour South HDR

Robert Scales of Raincity Studios and Vancouver Access 2010 is heading up one of the most active and up to date independent Olympic sites on the Internet. Utilizing Flickr, Twitter, Youtube and roving social media reporters, Vancouver Access 2010 is bringing current Olympic news to the masses as it happens. Literally. What they’ve done best is distilling the schizophrenic schedule of events occurring around the city into several simple guides of fun. The most popular post by far is their Guide to Free Attractions which highlights a serious amount of entertainment available in the city for everyone. Robert’s already hit up the Robson Square Zipline and a few open houses like the impressive CODE Live. You can follow his Olympic exploits on Twitter, Youtube and Flickr.

Vancouver photographer, Bev Davies, hit the Olympic streets with her camera last week and has already begun capturing street demonstrations and corporate commericial presences on her Flickr stream for all to see. Her Olympic schedule for the next few days includes a visit to the W2 Independent Media for it’s grand opening on Wednesday — where they’re showing some of her photos of D.O.A. –, Robson Square Zipline and a few after dark events.

I will be going to the opening of w2 wed morning between 9 and 10 am. I also have a photo show there 13 Photographs of D.O.A. on the Mezzanine off the main floor gallery. I will be doing other things that include the mind bending changing colour of the lights in Ontario while staying in Vancouver. All I need to do is get there when it is dark in ontario and not after 7pm here (bands come on at 7pm). It sounds like a bit of party central because it is open until 2 AM. Also I will be riding the Zip line 6 stories above Robson Street. I will try not to forget that D.O.A. are playing at the Rickshaw Feb 20. Anything thing else that sounds good and is free let me know. bev101 on twitter.

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Whistler Blackcomb Media Hub ~ Reporting about Olympics on the Mountain

Snowboarding in Whistler Blackcomb by KK

In the Whistler/Blackcomb area, media makers have another option for co-ordination and creation with a few initiatives Whistler/Blackcomb are doing in the social media realm including the Whistler Blackcomb Media hub.

They sent along some information on how reporters can apply for accreditation in Whistler to start a whole new conversation during the Olympics while also checking out the splendour of the mountains.

Whistler Blackcomb Media Hub

Whistler Blackcomb is running a media services centre called the Whistler Blackcomb Media Hub to help facilitate mountain access and help journalists find interesting and compelling Whistler Blackcomb story ideas.

Where: Westin Hotel Map

Hours: Feb . 10~28, 8am-6pm

Contact: 604.905.2010

Details:

From W/B Media Hub:

If you have accreditation for the Whistler Media House, you automatically have accreditation for the Whistler Blackcomb Media Hub.

Bloggers are welcome to apply for accreditation. Here is some criteria in which we are gauging mountain access:

* Must have an established site/blog with previous content
* Blogger must have around 5,000 views per month OR at around 100 hits/day

Connect in Whistler

Whistler Blackcomb has a variety of social communities and during the Games they’ll be posting info, video and photos as possible to help people follow along and encourage others to join in the conversation plus producing the Game On video podcast every second day of the Games, which will take viewers behind the scenes at Whistler Blackcomb during the Games. The first episode will launch Feb. 8.

Whistler Tags

Whistler social media community is running two hashtags for media:

#whistler30 is a story ideas hashtag for journalists looking for interesting story ideas about the Whistler community.

#whistlerw5 is designed for reporters to ask questions and other will pitch in and help answer Qs.

More Whistler:

Whistler Blackcomb media centre online

@WhistlerBlckcmb on Twitter

Whistler Blackcomb Flickr group

Whistler social communities including FB, MyS, podcasts, RSS, etc.

Posted in: Media Centres

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Vancouver Sun: Social Networking’s Olympic Inclusion

Note: Originally Posted by Jeff Lee at The Vancouver Sun on November 24th, 2008. Re-posted here on: July 15, 2009.

Vancouver Sun reporter, Jeff Lee, considered the media’s role in the Olympics and highlights Dave Olson’s open letter to VANOC as an example of the changing environment.

So it was a bit surprising to discover that the Vancouver Organizing Committee seems reluctant to include some types of online reporters in its planning for the 2010 Games. On Thursday Vanoc was asked in an open letter from Dave Olson, an online writer with Raincity Studios, to allow some of his colleagues to attend the World Press Briefing.
They didn’t get an answer. But on Sunday, Renee Smith-Valade, a.spokeswoman for Vanoc, sent the following hopeful email to me.

“Undountedly online media and the Internet as a news source and foum for discourse continues to grow phenominally. That’s why we have spent considerable resources to make our website our number one source of information and why we will continue to look for ways to make it a platform for discussion as well as information and purchasing. We welcome online media interest from all sources and were encouraged to see online media representatives registered for the recent World Press Briefing.

Please follow this link to read the rest of the article and the enlightening discussion in the Vancouver Sun comments.

Posted in: News about TNMH

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Citizen Media and The Olympics panel at Northern Voice [video by Bruce Sharpe]

Note: Originally Posted by Bruce Sharpe at 25 Hour Day on July 7, 2009. Re-posted here on: July 15, 2009.

Bruce Sharpe thankfully covered Robert Scales’ and Andy Miah’s Northern Voice 2009 presentation: ‘Then and Now… Citizen Media and The Olympics.’

Coverage of the Olympic Games is dominated by the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) contracted rights-holder and accredited major media conglomerates. However some feel there is a role for crowdsourced documentation of both sporting events and the cultural context in which it happens.

This expert panel discusses changes, challenges, and opportunities facing grassroots media makers around the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games.

From Northern Voice 2009.

Please follow the link to read the comments and download the video via Bruce’s site.

Posted in: News about TNMH

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Will Pate: Social Media’s Place at the 2010 Olympics

Note: Originally Posted by Will Pate at WillPate.org on November 25th, 2008. Re-posted here on: July 15, 2009.

Will Pate takes a brief, but detailed look at Dave Olson’s open letter to VANOC and discusses the motivations behind Raincity Studio’s True North Media House.

Several of the folks in question are colleagues of mine, and represent Raincity Studios, the web studio I’m proud to say I co-founded. Kris Krug, Robert Scales and Dave Olson are tireless social media practitioners, trainers, authors and conference organizers. They represent the best of what Canada does when it comes to the ongoing evolution of journalism through technology. They are treated with the respect due to recognized experts outside Canada, it would be a loss for the Vancouver games to overlook great talent in their own backyard. It would be a win to build on what they learned using social media to cover the Beijing 2008 Summer Olypmic Games.
Nor should social media as a force for good and bad PR be overlooked. The news has been filled in the last few years with stories of journalists, politicians and businesses tanked by bloggers and cameraphones. But my colleages are not proposing to build a virtual lynch mob, interfere with the major networks who pay good money for exclusive coverage of the events, or otherwise tarnish the image of our beloved Vancouver.
My colleagues want to help the mass of people who will arrive to watch and create social media at the games. I would like to see VANOC and the IOC reconsider bringing them to the table, at least so their exclusion doesn’t become a story that detracts from what I expect to be a most successful event.

Please follow this link to read the rest of the article.

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Darren Barefoot: “Thinking about social media and the 2010 Olympics…”

Note: Originally Posted by Darren Barefoot at DarrenBarefoot.com on November 25th, 2008. Re-posted here on: July 15, 2009.

In response to Dave Olson’s open letter and the Vancouver Sun’s commentary article, Vancouver blogger, Darren Barefoot, dissected the Olympic news situation by looking at the opportunities available to social media.

This feels like a good place to start. As Dave says, social media types aren’t expecting all-access passes to the gold medal hockey games. He’s right to point out that there’s a big hole to fill in the media coverage for such an event. I was thinking about it, and drew this little Venn diagram:

Venn Diagram by Darren Barefoot (CC)

Venn Diagram by Darren Barefoot (CC)

The CTVs and CBCs are going to have the major, breaking news covered. It’s all that green space–that’s where social media creators can live. Through various channels, I’m seeing several ways forward for benefits for both parties. Social media creators get some tools, resources and access to help with their citizen journalism efforts, and VANOC enjoys a whole new layer of news coverage. Such a partnership would also highlight Vancouver’s place as a global for new media, citizen journalism and the like.

To read the rest of the article please follow this link.

Posted in: News about TNMH

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The Tyee: “What happens to the [unaccredited media] overflow?”

Note: Originally Posted by Geoff Dembicki at The Tyee on March 23, 2009. Re-posted here on: July 14, 2009.

What happens to the overflow?

There’s no doubt come 2010, Vancouver will be a media circus. On top of the 10,000 accredited media anticipated by VANOC, a further 3,000 “unaccredited” passes will be issued by the British Columbia International Media Centre.

Scales was accepted into this second group, and plans to show up at Robson Square Plaza each day for official briefings and meetings with other reporters — though he’ll be barred from all Olympic venues. As thrilled as he was to receive access, he’s concerned that untold legions of bloggers, citizen journalists and tech-savvy spectators won’t benefit from the same resources.

“What happens to the overflow?” Scales asked. “Are they not entitled to cover the same stories? Are they not entitled to have a space to collaborate?”

For the past few months, Scales and Krug have participated in talks aimed at starting an alternative media centre. The True North Media House is still a work in progress, but could see 500 Games-time passes issued to everyone from international broadcasters to figure skating bloggers. Scales and Krug envision a social media hub where pros and amateurs trade sources, avail themselves of speedy upload technology and gain access to First Nations, protest and cultural groups outside of conventional channels.

“There’s going to be all these people who aren’t sports journalists who are here to figure out what Vancouver’s about,” Krug said. “The centre is about harnessing all these individuals doing alternative or outsider coverage of the Games.”

Read the rest of the article here.

Posted in: News about TNMH

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Alt/Indie/Social media makers meet-up to discuss Olympic ideas

Originally posted by Dave Olson at Raincity Studios on December 5th, 2008

Thank you for sharing

Meet up at Raincity Studios by Roland

Very pleased to see so many smart and engaging personalities co-mingling ideas and energy at Raincity Studios last night for our open conversation about the Olympics and “all of us”.

The 48 attendees represented many ages, motivations, backgrounds, and media channels from blogs, pods, newspapers, PR peeps, photographers, and so on. By the end, the conversations were bubbling and gifts exchanged and enthusiasm mounting.

My colleagues and I wanted to set the tone for a productive and inclusive project for anyone to participate in – no matter where they come from physically or philosophically. Scales and Krug’s remarks pointed out that we are apolitical, eager, and open for collaboration. I also think the passion for making media, changing the landscape, and being truly welcoming to our international peers came through.

What do you think? It’s up to all of us to grab ahold and create something noteworthy. Are you in?

Coverage of the meet-up

As usual, if I’ve missed a resource, please drop a comment to share your thoughts.

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Posted in: TNMH Meetings

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Vancouver 2010 Independent Media Centre meeting (December 2008)

Originally posted by Dave Olson at Raincity Studios on November 28th, 2008.

What:

1952 Oslo Winter Olympic flag

A meet-up, hosted by Raincity Studios, of independent and grassroots media publishers and creators to exchange ideas, resources, and notes about the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.

This is not an Olympic protest but rather a constructive, strategic conversation about the role of social media documentation of the forthcoming Games to ensure the ability to tell all the stories associated with the Games without censure or hassle.

Why

To discuss the possibility of an “independent media centre” at Raincity Studios office during the Vancouver/Whistler 2010 Olympic Games in February 2010 in order to maximize visibility and quality of documentation from local and international independent media makers.

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Posted in: TNMH Meetings

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Hello VANOC, We’re nice, local, and invite you for a coffee – Open Letter #2

Originally Posted by Dave Olson at Raincity Studios on November 26th, 2008.

You're *so* tough.I am following up on the Open Letter to VANOC from Social Media Makers with a few notes as well as an invitation to continue the conversation with VANOC over a tasty beverage. The letter has made its way around the world with Twitters, comments, blog posts, and personal notes of support and/or confusion coming in from many corners of the globe.

So, to keep the conversation rolling, here are my annotated notes, thoughts and recaps from the past few days of opinions rolling in:

First off, Jeff Lee, the Olympic reporter from the Vancouver Sun explored the changing media landscape in an excellent article and an accompanying blog post. He talked to several interesting people and brought a veteran mainstream media eye to the conundrums in “Changes coming to media’s coverage of Olympics – But new forms of news delivery are restricted by Olympic committee rules”. He keys right in on the crux of the tension – money vs.choice.

“As traditional news organizations struggle with declining readership and cutting staff while trying to capture greater online presence, the Olympics is undergoing its own transformation. The change is also affecting broadcasters, who like the others, have not yet figured out how to fully monetize their Internet properties.

The traditional forms of media coverage — exclusive territorial contracts with broadcasters, appointment of news wire agencies by the IOC and press credentials parcelled out by national Olympic committees — are coming under pressure as people change the way they get their news.”

His article also brought an insider’s point of view from the head of the (enormous) newswire AP who raised the same questions we are within the inner-sanctum of the IOC:

“In an address to the press commission, Tom Curley, the chief executive of Associated Press, warned that the lines between traditional news delivery models are blurring. Newspapers want to use streaming video, but are restricted because the IOC licenses broadcasters for field-of-play images. Audio broadcasts are similarly restricted. According to those who were at the meeting, Curley’s address stunned many members.”

Mr. Lee (who is olympicreporter on Twitter) also published extended notes and thoughts in a blog post titled “Social networking media push for inclusion in Olympic plan” (a bit buried in the site but worth the read).

His blog post provides a full quote from Renee Smith-Valade, VANOC spokesperson, who took time on a Sunday to follow-up to Lee’s inquiry thusly:

“The IOC is the ultimate arbiter on the representation on the Press Commission, and each country’s National Olympic Committee determines which media get accredited for the Games. As the Organizing Committee we can and will encourage both entities to recognize and facilitate the immense growth of online media, however ultimately decisions for press commission membership and Games accreditation lie with them. We have not yet responded to the open letter from the social media group but will do so in the coming days.”

My colleagues and I are encouraged that VANOC has a reply in mind. While its unlikely that we would have been accredited going through the IOC and national press associations channels, we firmly contend we have value to offer by being engaged in the dialogue. We also have first-hand experiences to share about creative solutions (including non-accredited media centers) and strategies to embrace the social media makers without compromising the relationships rights-holders, corporate sponsors and the like.

Gastown Photowalk CrewThis quest isn’t just “for us” – we are starting the conversation for the thousands of people who are coming to participate in the Games as “amateur” reporters, photographers, podcasters, videographers, etc. and will eagerly post their content to audiences of maybe dozens, maybe millions of viewers. Individually, the coverage is very niche, and that micro-coverage is a big part of the appeal. Further, the collective content produced by “all of us” will likely rival the mainstream media output.

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Posted in: Open Letters

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