Olympics

2010 Olympics to Offset All CO2 Emissions

Ariel Schwartz — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:19:34 -0500

NBC Plans to Pump Up Olympics Audio for Sled-Heads

Erica Westly — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:10:09 -0400

Hardcore luge freaks, are you holding on to your skin-tight unitards? NBC has announced that for its coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, it's firing up surround sound that'll make the luge and bobsled events sound as loud and crisp as NASCAR on Fox.

Which Is the Greenest Olympic City of Them All?

Ariel Schwartz — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:08:34 -0400

Rio Wins 2016 Summer Olympics Bid

Clay Dillow — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:45:16 -0400

Rio de Janeiro? After years of speculation, a rigorous four-year $50 million pitch by Chicago’s bid team, and impassioned pleas by Oprah and, you know, the Obamas, Chicago was the first city eliminated as a possible host city for the 2016 Summer Olympics by the International Olympic Committee this morning, followed by Tokyo and finally Madrid.

Tokyo Makes a Sun-Powered Bid for the 2016 Olympics

Kelsey Keith — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:13:09 -0400

It's about time the world's largest sports festival caught up to the ecologically responsible times.

Li Ning and Ziba Design Want to Build China’s First Truly Global Brand

Aric Chen — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:00:00 -0400

You may think you've never heard of Li Ning. But assuming you were one of the 4 billion or so people watching the opening ceremony of last year's Beijing Olympics, you've seen him. Remember the guy who lit the Olympic flame? The one who, as if by some superhuman power, levitated more than 100 feet and ran that mesmerizing aerial lap around the Bird's Nest stadium before setting the Olympic cauldron ablaze? That was Li Ning. And if he has his way, you won't be forgetting him again.

Fast History: Michael Phelps’ Eighth Gold Medal in Beijing, 2008

Clay Dillow — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 01:00:00 -0400

It’s been a rocky—we could even say stoney—year for Michael Phelps, America’s golden boy who last year left Beijing with the most gold medals ever awarded an Olympian in a single games. Riding high after being called the greatest swimmer of all time, Phelps found his way into a very public scandal when photos emerged of the swimmer holding a bong. But America is nothing if not forgiving, especially to its athletes. Not so many months later, the media has forgotten Phelps’ youthful follies and he’s back in the pool. His next big opponent: Shaquille O’Neal.

The Bike of the Future Is Theft-Proof, Solar-Powered, and Very Slick

Ariel Schwartz — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 08:54:47 -0400

Smart Meters Race to 2012 Olympic Games

Ariel Schwartz — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:14:53 -0400

The smart grid has been getting lots of press lately, with companies like AT&T, Verizon, and read more

Crowdfunding the Olympics

Brian Reich — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:23:45 -0500

Home Depot announced today that they were ending their sponsorship of the US Olympic Team (coverage here). The program, which had existed for 16 years, gave Olympic athletes part-time jobs and flexible hours along with full-time pay and benefits to help support their training. All told, Home Depot has employed more than 600 athletes who have won 145 medals.

Medal in Quitting for Balance

Joe Raasch — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 08:50:40 -0400

Quit. I did.

That’s the answer if you want to be an Olympic athlete. Seth Godin, in his little book “The Dip” talks about strategic quitting. I expect many athletes at the Bejing Olympics quit a lot of other activities to ensure they were performing at their best for the main events.

Focused Effort – Short Term

Work/Life

Another Look at China and the Olympics

Kevin Ohannessian — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:26:09 -0400

The Olympics in China and Authenticity

Kevin Ohannessian — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:13:02 -0400

NBC, The Olympics and Online Video

David Mullings — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:43:35 -0400

My experience so far with NBC's video website for Olympic content has been less than stellar and I would not recommend it to anyone - stick to regular television.

The improvements are easy to see and there will be countless blog posts about how they should have done it. Instead of focusing on what they should improve, I want to share my idea for what they should have done in the first place since I think the entire strategy is the old media way of thinking.

Old Media Approach

Let’s Look Beyond the Haze

Terry Tamminen — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:10:51 -0400

I was in Beijing last week and noticed the smog, of course, but as China grapples with Olympics and air quality I also saw something much more important. China is serious about energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gases.

In recent months, the Chinese government has closed over 21 gigawatts of the dirtiest, most inefficient power plants. They didn’t do this just for a temporary clean air benefit around Beijing - - it was done permanently all across the country. They also closed inefficient foundries, furnaces, and cement makers in huge numbers.

08.08.08

VJ Misra — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:40:15 -0400

Olympics are right around the corner – August 08, 2008. You can almost feel multinational companies vying to be in the mainstream ad revenue. Olympic Games are to the world what Super Bowl is to United States. With NBC streaming live content in the United States, Madison Avenue advertising executives are sitting at the edge of their seats, trying to create last minute campaigns. Or are they?

Management

7 Super Secret Olympic Shoes from Nike, Adidas, and Puma

Brendan Collins — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:05:06 -0400

For the Shaolinquan – Mandarin for “Martial Arts” – Nike consulted with wushu masters and martial artists the world over to perfect the stylish and practical design. Weighing in at only 4.75 oz., the Shaolinquan is made with kangaroo leather and has the Chinese characters for “Hero Inside – Release It” stitched into the heel.

7 Footwear Innovations for the Olympics

Fast Company staff — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:30:13 -0400

Olympic Innovations in Athletic Gear

Fast Company staff — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:30:08 -0400

She was 15 years old at her first Olympic Games, in Athens. Now, at 19, Katie Hoff is looking to Beijing, and experts are calling her the “female Michael Phelps.” She could win multiple golds in China, thanks at least in part to her SPEEDO LZR RACER (pronounced “laser”) swimsuit, which compresses her body at key points to reduce “form drag,” making her smaller (and thus faster) in the water. The dark, NASA-tested panels also shed water. Speedo eschews fabric stitching, instead bonding the panels to the suit’s nylon core using ultrasonic “welding.”

High-Tech Gear for Olympic Athletes

Paul Hochman — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:30:07 -0400

Beyond the double glass doors, out past the marble fountain burbling near the Tiger Woods building, a billion perfect blades of grass stood at attention. Songbirds twittered. Sunlight shone. Flags fluttered over twin soccer fields so plush the pitches looked like swimming pools. All was as it should be on Nike's Beaverton, Oregon, campus: perfect.

Audiobrain Meets NBC: Creating Music for the Beijing Olympics

Lucas Conley — Fri, 09 May 2008 17:06:53 -0400

"People think I'm crazy," admits Audrey Arbeeny. The blond, ponytailed New Yorker has stepped away from a blissful slugging session with a punching bag at the Flatiron branch of the New York Health & Racquet Club to hold her cell phone near the gym's speakers. Using a service on her phone, she's trying to identify the song playing. What knocked her out was the pulsing guitars of "Stop and Stare" by alternative rockers OneRepublic. "I collect songs at the gym, off the car radio, from TV programs," she says, "whenever I feel the track could augment an Olympic moment."

Olympic Sponsors: Get Out Front on Darfur?

David Lidsky — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 19:35:02 -0500

Liquid Brand Summit '08