"SWIFTER, HIGHER, stronger" was how Pierre de Coubertin described the Olympic ideal a century ago, after resurrecting the games of the ancient Greeks. And now we could add "bloggier", thanks to modern geeks.
If there was ever an event that plays to the best qualities of blogging, it's the Olympics.
The games are political and global, prime topics for blogging. The preparation and even the events themselves are scattered, so it's easier for observers blogging to be everywhere than it is for traditional news media.
Far-off time zones create a problem for live television in the US and Europe, but results and descriptions can be available instantly online. Translation software can help break down language barriers. And the Olympics are the most niche of sporting spectacles - a compilation of marquee events that get worldwide attention every four years and many obscure ones begging for some informed person with a computer to enlighten us.
"In essence, this is the first Web 2.0 Olympics," said Lee Rainie, founding director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project, a research centre in Washington. "Blogging existed in 2004 and 2006, but there wasn't as much information-spreading and dissemination as there is now."
"You don't need to be credentialed to do it. There are people who have covered the Iraq war essentially with a tip jar," he said. "You don't need an institution behind you or a laminated card to go out and cover things."
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) considers blogging "a legitimate form of personal expression", not a form of journalism, so bloggers don't need - nor can they get - media credentials unless they're already members of the news media.
"Online has become a significant factor in the news marketplace, but we have also found that it is primarily the same 'old' media organisations - news agencies and newspapers - who are the leaders in the online journalism, including blogging," said Anthony Edgar, head of media operations for the IOC.
"The Googles, Yahoos and other big internet players have simply not gotten into content production. They still rely on AP, Reuters . . . to get their content."
The Olympic committee forbade athletes from blogging during the 2004 games in Athens, in part to protect the value of the exclusive broadcast rights. The IOC will, for the first time, allow athletes and coaches to blog from Beijing; that is, if their own national Olympic committees allow it, so long as they don't reveal information about or interview one another.
The Australian Olympic Committee has said it would prohibit blogging by its athletes in Beijing for fear it could turn the competition into a reality TV show.
"The nature of the technology is such that if someone came off the field or the track annoyed about something, they could spout off at their competitors or their coaches. That would undermine team spirit," said Craig Phillips, secretary general of the Australian Olympic Committee. "Blogging would allow athletes to launch missiles electronically, and it could become a real free-for-all."
