From the Super Bowl to the Vatican – Social Media Hits the Big Time

It’s not new news that the social media phenomenon is transforming how people communicate and connect.  But what is ever surprising is how fast social media are making these inroads and the institutions that are beginning to embrace such tactics. 

Take for instance last week’s social media coverage of the Super Bowl.  Cincinnati Bengal Chad Ochocinco was tapped by Motorola to cover all the week’s activities leading up to the big game.  Ochocinco was joined by NFL stars Chris Cooley, Darnell Dockett, Ray Rice and the comedy team of Jake and Amir to deliver insider views and real reporting.  The team covered official Super Bowl events as well as the party scene.  Dubbed the Ochocinco News Network (OCNN) powered by MOTOBLUR, the campaign garnered thousands of followers and media buzz from ESPN to the Huffington Post and the Miami Herald which said they were “covering the Super Bowl Week like no one ever has.”

Behind the scenes, orchestrating the OCNN was Kevin Flynn who gained his social media expertise on President Obama’s campaign trail where he helped manage 18 state blogs on the campaign’s Web site.  Says Flynn, “There are amazing Web sites building software programs available these days that allow html novices like myself to create an online presence that would have cost a bundle just a couple of years ago.”  Flynn also credits these resources with being able to pull together social media campaigns quickly, saying that the OCNN went from idea to live in just under two weeks.

One might expect a mobile giant such as Motorola to jump on the social media bandwagon by leveraging Super Bowl coverage, but you might be surprised at who else is embracing social media.  As part of the Catholic Church’s 44th  World Communication Day (scheduled for Sunday May 16, 2010), Pope Benedict XVI has proclaimed that it’s time for priests to step away from the pulpit and embrace the Internet to preach to and engage with followers.  The theme for this year’s World Communications Day is “The Priest and Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World:  New Media at the Service of the Word.” 

According to a Vatican proclamation, “Responding adequately to this challenge (of spreading the Word of God) amid today’s cultural shifts, to which young people are especially sensitive, necessarily involves using new communications technologies. The increased availability of the new technologies demands greater responsibility on the part of those called to proclaim the Word, but it also requires them to become more focused, efficient and compelling in their efforts. Priests stand at the threshold of a new era: as new technologies create deeper forms of relationship across greater distances, they are called to respond pastorally by putting the media ever more effectively at the service of the Word.”

For more on the OCNN click here

For the Vatican Proclamation on New Media see click here