Social media makes WC the biggest ever media event

By Kerryn Le Cordeur

While the 2010 FIFA World Cup has been deemed the biggest media event ever, across all media platforms, from TV, to online, and even cinema, it is social media that has most clearly illustrated the extent of global public interest in the event.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is the first World Cup to take place since the explosion of social media, and its global appeal (compared to other significant social media events such as US President, Barack Obama’s election day victory; the death of Michael Jackson; or the post-election protests in Iran) means that it has been touted as the biggest event in social media yet – hitting Twitter; Facebook; and YouTube most significantly as, according to Matt Stone, Head of New Media for FIFA, “ordinary fans can become instant pundits from their living rooms.” They are also able to get closer to the action by connecting with players (provided the players are allowed to interact on social media platforms) and other fans, as well as keeping abreast of the action, wherever they are.

Where radio and TV once provided exclusive real-time soccer coverage, as 2010 FIFA World Cup fever has spread across the globe, Twitter is possibly the best place to keep track of the goings-on. The microblogging site’s hashtag system is an ideal way to keep tabs of certain teams; events; or players. It offers an immediacy that may well be preferred to the traditional news sources, especially for those stuck at work or out at functions and unable to watch the action live, with just their mobile phones at their disposal.

This World Cup has seen the proliferation of tweets as teams go head-to-head, and as such, Twitter is playing a significant role in the tournament’s popularity. It has reached peaks of 3 000 tweets per second during the tournament, and when a World Cup goal is scored, Twitter celebrates, with the most significant increases in tweets so far seen in the games between Japan and Cameroon; Brazil and North Korea; and Mexico’s tied goal with South Africa. The vuvuzela has also been a trending topic on the microblogging site. However, Twitter is battling to handle the rise in traffic, and has issued warnings that users should brace themselves for a few ‘Fail Whales’ over this period. The site is also postponing a planned network overhaul until the ‘World Cup tsunami’ is over.

Facebook has also been hit by World Cup ‘fever’, with just a glance at the social networking site after an important game, such as the one between South Africa and France, showing the majority of users getting into the spirit of the tournament and behind their teams with messages of support and commentary on the game. The vuvuzela has also caused a stir, with Facebook groups of up to 190 000 users calling for it to be banned, and subsequent groups being created to show support for the ‘plastic horn’. Even YouTube has gotten in on the action by activating an icon in the shape of a soccer ball on some of its videos that, when clicked, emits the sound of a vuvuzela. Of course, the video service also makes it easy for users to watch that controversial goal over and over again; check out the music video for the World Cup song; or see the excitement in the streets of Sandton prior to the World Cup kick off – and share it with their online contacts, further spreading the excitement of the event.

Apart from being an avenue for communication about and keeping up-to-date with the World Cup, social media has also played a part in the marketing activities around the event. Major World Cup sponsor, Sony Ericsson, has focused its advertising budget on social networking by launching the Twitter Cup, a unique way for football fans to get behind their teams online and via their cell phones. Coca-Cola has also been running one of its World Cup ads exclusively on social media platforms, encouraging people to upload videos of their own goal celebrations to YouTube.

There’s no doubt that social media has contributed to making the 2010 FIFA World Cup the biggest media event ever, with its viral nature contributing to the spread of information, and the pervasiveness and immediacy of the social web meaning that it has become the norm to comment and report on events as they happen, so that even if you’re not an avid follower of the World Cup, chances are you know what’s going on simply from glancing at Twitter or Facebook. Considering that this type of communication and consumption was almost unheard of just four years ago at the last World Cup, I wonder what advances will take place over the next four years, and how we will experience the next big event in 2014?

Source: Media Update