Salamu
The countdown has begun to what will be one of the best Olympic Games of all time. In 17 days athletes and swimmers from all over the world will walk into London's Olympic Stadium to kick off what will be two weeks of fierce competition.
Athletes and swimmers at this years games will be able to take advantage of alot of things. They will be able to have proper fish and chips, they will be able to ride on a proper public transport system which actually works, and they will be able to take advantage of loose well fit Essex and Geordie birds which will virtually be fed to they on tap.
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| Athletes and Swimmers will have a plethora of fit Essex and Geordie birds on tap. Lucky Bastards! |
I must admit that I am a bit envious about that last advantage but I have had my days of enjoying the wonders of loose Essex and Geordie birds.
We digress, so there are actually advantages of having the Olympic Games in London (believe it or not), but one thing that a number of athletes and swimmers will not be able to do is tweet about their experiences.
Let me just put a disclaimer in here: I am in no way accusing the IOC of censorship nor am I saying that they are forcefully banning athletes and swimmers from Twitter. It is the individual countries participating in the games that impose this ban. Not the IOC or the London Organizing Committee.
And we all have to thank Samoan international rugby player Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu for this. He really had alot to say during last years Rugby World Cup accusing the IRB of being a slave organisation and then he had a go at the referee who blew the game between South Africa and Samoa.
Whether this was right or wrong, it damaged the IRB for two reasons. It drew attention to the fact that they are possibly a little uncaring about the smaller unions and the fact that the IRB lashed out at Sapolu so severely it was like they were desperately trying to either hide something or shift the attention away from an aspect that could embarrass the organisation.
True every player has a right to voice his opinion, but there are systems and processes in place to do this. And experience has taught me not to try and fight the system head on.
I think that the public in general do not fully understand the powerful role that social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook can play. We all know about the role that Facebook played in organizing the London Riots in 2011 and the Egyptian Revolution in 2011/12.
There have been many theories discussing the concept of Marshall McLuhan's theory of the Global Village. Some say that it was achieved with the invention of radio, others TV. But to me these are merely the first steps in the journey towards it, not even the internet has achieved the level of global conductibility in one space that social media has.
Mei jua daima kuwa kabla yenu, na vivuli nyuma yako!
We digress, so there are actually advantages of having the Olympic Games in London (believe it or not), but one thing that a number of athletes and swimmers will not be able to do is tweet about their experiences.
Let me just put a disclaimer in here: I am in no way accusing the IOC of censorship nor am I saying that they are forcefully banning athletes and swimmers from Twitter. It is the individual countries participating in the games that impose this ban. Not the IOC or the London Organizing Committee.
And we all have to thank Samoan international rugby player Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu for this. He really had alot to say during last years Rugby World Cup accusing the IRB of being a slave organisation and then he had a go at the referee who blew the game between South Africa and Samoa.
Whether this was right or wrong, it damaged the IRB for two reasons. It drew attention to the fact that they are possibly a little uncaring about the smaller unions and the fact that the IRB lashed out at Sapolu so severely it was like they were desperately trying to either hide something or shift the attention away from an aspect that could embarrass the organisation.
True every player has a right to voice his opinion, but there are systems and processes in place to do this. And experience has taught me not to try and fight the system head on.
I think that the public in general do not fully understand the powerful role that social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook can play. We all know about the role that Facebook played in organizing the London Riots in 2011 and the Egyptian Revolution in 2011/12.
There have been many theories discussing the concept of Marshall McLuhan's theory of the Global Village. Some say that it was achieved with the invention of radio, others TV. But to me these are merely the first steps in the journey towards it, not even the internet has achieved the level of global conductibility in one space that social media has.
Mei jua daima kuwa kabla yenu, na vivuli nyuma yako!
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