With billion-dollar and exclusive usage rights in place, the Olympic Games have always been about big money and feverishly policed by lawyers on behalf of brands, content owners and media giants. But the advent of mobile and social — which allow us all to mash up content the way we like and share it with anyone using YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and other properties — make me question whether anyone (even high-powered lawyers) can hold back the tide.

The advance of user-generated content and consumers’ assumption that they are in control of their content and experiences has huge implications for the London Games — and the brands lining up to get mileage out of the event.

Seeking to prevent guerilla tactics from non-Olympic Games’ sponsors, the International Olympic Committee has decided to restrict precisely how athletes can transmit photos and other information to networks and the wider world.

Yes, you read this right.

The IOC has introduced The Olympic Athletes’ Hub, which it says will include the verified social media feeds of more than 1,000 current and former Olympians. According to Mashable, this destination will post content directly from athletes’ Facebook and Twitter accounts, and incorporate a gamification layer incentivizing fans to interact with the site. Users will be able to access exclusive training-tips videos and gain virtual and real-world prizes according to how many athletes they like and follow online.

Significantly, athletes will not be allowed to tweet photos of themselves with products that aren’t those of the official Olympics sponsors. They are also not permitted to share photos or videos from inside the athletes’ village.

Amazingly, the restrictions don’t only apply to the athletes. Fans who are ticketholders are also barred from sharing photos and videos of themselves during Games’ action via Facebook and YouTube.

The crackdown is largely linked to a pair of new and stringent brand-protecting acts passed in the U.K. in preparation for the Games. (By way of background — and via the Guardian — the pieces of legislation are the 2006 London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act, and the 1995 Olympic Symbol (Protection) Act.)

I have a long history with the Olympics, first as a reporter (Los Angeles 1984), and later as a brand marketer (Atlanta 1996, Nagano 1998, and Salt Lake City 2002). Traditionally, the national and international Olympic organizations have been aggressive (and successful) in seeking to prevent non-sponsors from associating with the Games. But that was before smartphones and tablets. Will these new measures stem the tide of user-generated content and activity? Don’t bet on it. Instead, expect to see ‘bootleg’ footage and content from people at the Games. And watch the Olympic lawyers come after brands and individuals who violate these new rules.

The upshot? The Olympics aren’t the only games we will be watching this summer. While it might seem easier for companies (and people) to get around large sponsorship fees by harnessing user-generated content and content created by companies that are not official sponsors, be prepared for a tussle as rights owners struggle to lock down content and distribution in an age where mobile has changed the idea of ownership forever.

(post first appeared on mobilegroove.com http://www.mobilegroove.com/london-olympic-games-crack-down-hard-on-social-me...

 

I thought of Rod Carew when I reached 3,000 followers on Twitter over the weekend.

During my sports writing years, Carew successfully chased down the 3,000 hit mark. But he was known as a singles hitter and perceived by many as one who couldn’t reach base when it mattered most.

In fact, Carew heard the talk and grew to despise it.

In the locker room, he once said to an overweight journalist, “Why don’t you mix in a salad every now and then?”

The writer’s retort? “Why don’t you mix an RBI (runs batted in) in every now and then.”

The two had to be separated and the story became part of Carew’s history.

This brings me back to the 3,000-follower mark. Of course, it’s easier to get 3,000 followers than 3,000 big league hits.

The question I ask myself is whether I’m a singles hitter like Carew, one who builds up the numbers but never does anything that matters.

Anyone who knows me will understand when I say that isn’t for me to judge. You will never hear me say, “Now here’s a great idea.” My goal is to throw out something smart and for someone to see it as valuable.

So am I bringing value on Twitter (and in this blog)? Have any of my more than 10,000 tweets been anything beyond singles? Were most of them outs?

Again, that’s not for me to judge.

I do believe that tweeting is an endeavor worth the time and effort. I try to bring context to the link and offer my view on the implications of the product introduced or of the statistic cited.

And I hate the term followers. We are in a community, in this together and, just by our presence and participation on Twitter, we’re indeed all leaders.

Will I swing and miss on more than my share of the next 10,000 tweets? Absolutely.

Will I mix in a salad tweet or one that tells you what I had for lunch? It’s not going to happen.  I promise you value in exchange for your eyes and for your time.

And I thank you more than you know for being part of my world.

On its sixth birthday, 532 million had registered for Twitter accounts. The company said that 140 million are active users. About 12 million have tuna fish for lunch -- or so it seems.

The headline read Yelp Mobile Will Tell You Where To Go For Dinner And What To Order. I already have that covered with my wife,

Several times a year, media report on a supposed mobile phone blowing up or catching fire. A story on an iPhone 4 allegedly imploding while charging hit this week. Invariably, these turn out to be hoaxes. The media doesn’t do its homework – angle of this story has, pardon the pun, some sizzle.

In 17 hours, Amazon sold 1 million $10 gifts cards for $5 each. Before, during, after recession, people want a deal. Several studies tell us that about 70 percent of mobile subscribers want them on their mobile devices.

Apple sold three million iPads in three days. It took the first iPad 28 days for 1 million.

Do you think consumers heard "Apple buyback" and thought it was about getting rid of old products?

Google is said to be reevaluating its mobile wallet strategy in light of what Bloomberg said was slower than expected adoption. Mobile-payment transactions will top $170 billion by 2015, up from about $60 billion last year, according to Juniper Research. If those projections are true, will 2015 be viewed as the end of the early adopter phase?

 

Back when I was a sports writer, I loved writing a column called Notes On A Scorecard. It was a somewhat mad dash around the sports world with some news and a lot of opinion. It’s time to kick that off here with the first in a series called Notes From A Mobilized Marketer.

Apple’s 25 billion app store downloads have brought $4 billion to developers. It’s interesting to know that Apple didn't introduce the app concept -- others did as far back as 10 years ago.

More than the number of downloads, I want to know how many apps are used and how often. Activity is lower than you think. I’ll post further on this and discuss the ramifications for marketers.

Approximately 69 percent of China's one billion mobile subscribers access the Web through their phones on a regular basis. China is the largest mobile market in the world. 

Lost in the discussion about smartphone adoption is the fact that more than 150 million in United States still have feature phones. We need to market to them, too.

Judging by the weekend crowd around the iPads in the Apple store, people either don't know about the impending iPad 3 or don't care to wait. Speaking of which, we’re one day closer to the start of iPad 4 rumors. It makes me want to pull the covers over my head.

If Apple was the first to announce 41 megapixels in a smartphone (like Nokia did), do you think folks would stand on chairs and applaud? I do. There is more on Nokia’s accomplishment in my latest MobileGroove column. http://www.mobilegroove.com/mwc-can-facebook-twitter-crack-the-code-on-releva...

Sprint reportedly will have 10 handsets with Google Wallet in 2012 bit.ly/xrKoMq. There is significant wallet discussion in my upcoming Mobilized Marketing book.

Google's supposed Siri-like offering is named "assistant" and being positioned as a "do engine" tcrn.ch/yMJDe9. I’m not a big Siri user. It's more of a gimmick. Do you use it?

I think more will buy photoshop tools if the world moves to 41-megapixel smartphones. Tools and eyelash enhancement services.

I feel the idea of the Air Force spending $9 million on iPads to replace flight manuals will be dissed by politicians. It doesn't matter that it makes sense.

Facebook and Twitter will accelerate mobile advertising's growth unless they screw it up – I discuss that as well in my MobileGroove column. http://www.mobilegroove.com/mwc-can-facebook-twitter-crack-the-code-on-releva...

Registration is open for the free webinar I'm doing May 3 with the Mobile Marketing Association on my new Mobilized Marketing book. bit.ly/A7GoXp. The official book launch is two days earlier but electronic versions will likely be available sooner.

Apple is imposing its will to set price and content for its coming TV subscription service, according to a report read.bi/y4jdgD me: Am I shocked? No.

Frustrated by others' efforts, Walmart and Target reportedly are in a new group chasing mobile payments. bit.ly/yJrhrs This will be a long race and there will be more than one winner.

It's early to gauge ROI, but Samsung has sold two million Note smartphone tablet hybrids (please don’t call them phablets) after its $10 million Super Bowl campaign. bit.ly/AtJMiH

Apple was named Fortune's most admired company on the same day that Verizon won the J.D. Power customer service award. I’m curious to know which has more sway with consumers.

Eight percent of cellphone owners don't know if their device is a smartphone, according to Pew. Should we call them dumb users?

Mario Schulzke from www.ideamensch asked me to write about my life on Twitter. Here's what I submitted http://ideamensch.com/1000-days-on-twitter-lessons-learned/

What I know and still wonder about more than 1,000 days and 2,500 followers into my @jeffhasen Twitter life:

I’m doing OK if you consider that I’ve consistently been placed on the Top CMOs on Twitter list http://www.smmmagazine.com/exclusives/top-cmos-on-twitter/.

I’m doing lousy if you average out days and followers that seem to indicate that I’m as popular as Christmas music in January.

I spend more and more time on Twitter. To help determine how much versus the rest, I went to Google and put in “time spent on t…” It came back with two choices — time spent on Twitter and time spent on toilet. At least one of those deserves to be kept to oneself.

I realize that I can grow my followers’ list rapidly through all sorts of trickery. But I continue to believe that a smaller list earned is better than one with 3,000 “followers” who have no value to me – nor me to them. By the way, Tweetcounter says it will take me about 535 days to get to 4,000 followers. I give that prediction slightly more than zero credence. I have lots in store for the next 535 days, none of which I’ve shared with Tweetcounter.

I refuse to use Twitter like most use Facebook (and many sadly use LinkedIn). Katie Couric famously said that “no one gives a rat’s ass that I had a tuna fish sandwich for lunch”. The minutiae of my life isn’t especially interesting to even those closest to me.

I see no value in using a Twitter account as an RSS feed. If you provide a link with no context or analysis, I’ve likely seen the news elsewhere. Please tell me what it means to you and to me.

There is no doubt that Twitter has led to business relationships that I could not develop elsewhere. Want to make a sale? Know your target and go where he or she lives. Twitter is full of potential contacts that are only reachable there.

I view Google Plus much like I saw Twitter 1,000 days ago. Approximately 62 million joined Google Plus in the first six months, according to one estimate (Google does not report the number). Consistently I’ve found those I’ve looked up to be mostly inactive. That either speaks to my circle or the tool as a whole. I spent some of the holiday break reading Chris Brogan’s Google Plus For Business: How Google’s Social Network Changes Everything. It’s a book worth a look, but, at this point, the extent of the change is in question.

Don’t be overly concerned by your Klout score or any other tool that claims to measure your influence. If you can grow your business, career or just your mind via what you see and say on Twitter, it’s an experience worth taking.

Forrester analysts say that 6.2 percent of online adults are creating 80 percent of the influence from tweets. The research firm calls these users Mass Connectors, part of the Mass Influencers group. I have no idea if I fit into those categories but I do feel like anyone can have influence if they provide useful insights and consistently put in the effort to contribute.

While known as one of the most progressive marketers, Seth Godin is no fan – or even user – of Twitter.

“One hundred and forth characters are not a replacement for 200-page reads,” Godin said at the recent Seattle workshop I attended.

Godin does not tweet, saying among other things that it would take time away from other what he considers more important tasks. He said he reads over 100 blogs a day and, get this, a book a day (although he admits he doesn’t read the books cover to cover – only enough to know what the thought-leaders are saying and doing).