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    Categories: Social Media

IOC Loosens Citizen Photog Restrictions, Launches Flickr Group

At the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, social media was in its infancy. But in Vancouver, it sometimes seems to overshadow the accredited media.

As expected, the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics are the first Games to truly be impacted by social media. As a result, one question leading up to the Games was whether the International Olympic Committee (IOC) would continue to exercise its restrictive policies regarding media coverage and copyright. Would these policies change when bloggers, amateur photographers and other members of the citizen media brigade made their voices heard in Vancouver? Or would the IOC clamp down and seek to silence the voice of the crowd?

It seems the IOC is ready for a bit of change: It recently announced a Flickr Fan group. Slowly, the Olympics are changing to meet the new media world.

This is the second photo essay by Vancouver photographer Kris Krüg (view the first one here; read our Olympics coverage here). This time, he examines how social media is changing the Olympic Games.

src=”http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2795/4374459636_ccf0a088a9.jpg”
alt=”Womens Hockey – Canada vs Slovakia – Canada Place – Vancouver
Winter Olympics” height=”333″ width=”500″ />

Only accredited photographers are allowed to shoot from the media sections inside the Olympic venues. Here, you see an accredited sports photographer, who has to abide by the IOC rules, with a Flickr sticker on his lens. It’s great to see old school mixing with new school.

Go to Photo 2 ->

Kris Krug :Kris Krüg is a designer, writer, photographer, and webmonkey based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Constantly challenging himself by shooting diverse subjects from emerging rock bands to dot-com execs, Kris uses his engaging personality to break down the barriers between lens and subject. Kris is a fervent evangelist for open culture and Creative Commons licensing and frequently speaks at conferences and the media about the blurring lines between pro and amateur, shifting copyright standards and using technology to promote and share artistic work. Kris realizes art isn't created in a vacuum and a vibrant community is key for culture to flourish. With this in mind, he organizes photowalks and workshops for newbies and veterans alike to encourage knowledge sharing and collaboration.

View Comments (3)

  • The subject was so enormous, as a social media photographer, I used my smallest camera and blogged everyday. I always started with the small, my cat Grinder that day and then headed out into the big, the Olympics. You can see my blog at - http://www.bevdavies.com

  • The move comes at a time when both amateur and professional photographers working in the capital have claimed that they have been stopped and questioned by police, or have been told that they cannot photograph in public places.

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