Normally when you hear about athletes and Twitter you think about the NFL and NBA. Perhaps you think Chad Ochocinco (now back to Johnson) tweeting how he’s going to burn the defense for a touchdown. You might think of Mark Cuban, outlandish Dallas Mavericks owner, and his seemingly endless Twitter feud with NBA head honcho, David Stern. Either way you probably don’t think about the Olympics, do you?

The Olympics and Twitter?

The Olympic committee announced early Monday that they will allow Olympic athletes to take a larger role on Twitter starting in 2012. Personally, I think this is a wonderful idea. As a HUGE and I mean HUGE Summer Olympics fan I can’t wait to see how Twitter will help enhance our Olympic experience. You’ll have Michael Phelps, tweeting about how confidant he is in his abilities to win the 200m Freestyle. You’ll have Nastia Liukin tweeting about how nervous she is in her quest to defend her Women’s All Around Gold Medal from 2008. The USA Dream Team will probably get in on the action too. Kevin Durrant, Lebron James, Chris Paul, these guys are already Twitter Gods!

Rules about the Olympics and Twitter

The Olympic committee didn’t give athletes free reign in regards to Twitter. They placed a few rules and regulations on the use of Social Media. First and foremost the committee decided that athletes shouldn’t use curse words on Twitter. This rules comes as sort of a no brainer. These athletes aren’t just representing themselves, they are representing the people of their nation, and nothing shines through more then national pride. Another rule stated that athletes shouldn’t be covering events on Twitter in the same way a journalist should.

They must not report on competition or comment on the activities of other participants or accredited persons, or
disclose any information which is confidential or private in relation to any other person or
organization.

The committee said that those on Twitter should take a “first person, diary type” approach to their accounts. Perhaps the largest change to the Twitter policy is that athletes can now share photos. In 2008 athletes were not allowed to share photos on Twitter or any other social media format. It will certainly be interesting to see what behind the scenes photos athletes decide to share. For the full document, click here.

What Twitter Could Hold for the Olympics.

Like I  discussed before athletes could now share anything they wanted, within reason, on Twitter at the Olympics. The scene inside the Olympic Village is supposed to be pretty out of hand, given everything that the media has told us. Maybe we’ll get a glimpse inside it’s walls via Twitter in 2012. Maybe we’ll make a personal connection with a variety of athletes we wouldn’t know about otherwise. Stay tuned to Social Medianaires for all things Twitter related.

Either way this new Olympic Twitter policy should be fun to see in 2012.