USA Pro Cycling Challenge Rolls Into Colorado

As an avid cycling fan with my cowbell in hand, I set out to write about the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, which welcomes 127 of the world’s top cyclists to ride nearly 600 miles across some of Colorado’s most acclaimed mountain passes and scenery. After German cyclist Jens Voigt’s breakthrough success as @thejensie on Twitter, capturing 48,097 followers since his first tweet on July 11 during the Tour de France, I figured online audiences would be hungry for information about this inaugural race that revisits many of the routes traveled during Colorado’s last great stage race, the Coors Classic.

But as I started to catch up on some of the latest online updates, including @schleckfrank of Luxembourg missing his one-year wedding anniversary to race in Colorado, I noted a slightly different story – one with social media lessons for others planning to take their brands online and reach audiences worldwide.

First, the USA Pro Cycling Challenge is scheduled at the same time as the Vuelta a España, Spain’s version of the Tour de France. Fielding riders at multiple events at the same time is common in pro cycling; however, for a first-time event, it’s tough to compete with one of the top cycling events in the world as you try to build awareness amongst loyal cycling fans.

But the good news is that all of the podium finishers from this year’s Tour de France opted to head to Colorado instead of Spain, so the scheduling issue isn’t a huge point, just worth noting as Twitter fans have developed an alternative hashtag for the USA Pro Cycling Challenge #notthevuelta. Let’s face it – we all know its better to be known for what you are than what you’re not.

In fact, Twitter fans are using a number of hashtags for this week’s event. The official #uspro is being used by race organizers @usaprochallenge. But several others have cropped up on the first day of the race including #thatraceinCO, #usprocc, #usaprocc and #usapro – the preference of the local Colorado broadcast news media.

Unfortunately, it’s not a good sign when brands and the media covering them are out of sync. As a result, race organizers, sponsors, media and online audiences may loose out on the concentration of information that results from a well-optimized hashtag.

Perhaps some of the confusion is stemming from the fact that race organizers had a hard time pinning down a name for this event, which was first known as the Quizno’s Pro Challenge and was rumored to have gone through a few other options since @lancearmstrong first connected with former Governor Bill Ritter to secure the world-class event for Colorado. Thankfully, online mockery about the name, limited mountain-top finishes and the fact that co-founder Armstrong was in Texas, not Colorado, for the first two days of the event are being overcome by an outstanding field of cyclists and a first-class online experience that includes a fully optimized mobile website featuring the Shack Tracker and Map My Ride virtual cycling challenge to benefit Spokes of Change.

Stage one winner @levileipheimer is joined by a strong field of world-class riders who are using their Twitter feeds, Facebook profiles and blogs to share their experiences in Colorado with cycling fans from around the world. Despite some of the hurdles inevitably faced by a new event of this magnitude, the online chatter is significant and if everyone can figure out the right hashtag, the USA Pro Cycling Challenge is bound to be #trending in Denver as the final stage rolls onto Speer Boulevard next Sunday.

The New Voice of Television

By now, it’s well known that the Internet has wrought a widespread revolution in the news and entertainment industries. Old and young, early adopter or Luddite, the Web is central to, and consistently changing, the way we gather and share information.

In the face of these changes, you often heard critiques that the industry “didn’t adjust quickly enough” or that they “dismissed the Internet as a passing fad” – blame didn’t fall far from the industry itself.

But finally, traditional media is fighting back, supported in part by the iPad, courting the publishing industry and America’s addiction to reality TV.

However, one show currently stands out – NBC’s The Voice. The Voice not only gets that primetime television can no longer live in a vacuum, but the show has also taken the next step by redefining the relationship between television and the Internet.

The Voice is actively engaging audiences via the website, social media and popular entertainment outlets, rather than using the Internet as a central hub for online audiences to view past episodes, vote for their favorite participants or read the latest scuttlebutt about the cast.

Specifically, The Voice is joining a new rank of social media savvy TV shows, such as Glee, The Colbert Report and Tosh.O. The Voice live tweets during each episode of the show and promotes its Twitter feed and hashtag #TheVoice in banner updates across the bottom of the television screen. Taking a page from American Idol, The Voice also encourages fans to download special single releases on iTunes.

During the first week of the show, The Voice hit the top 100 chart on iTunes – Javier Colon's version of the classic Cyndi Lauper tune "Time After Time" shot to #57 only hours after its release. And now that America is voting for The Voice, iTunes is an early barometer of which contestant will make the next round.

Such immediate and direct opportunities to connect with judges and contestants are making The Voice a whole new experience on television. I’ll admit, I enjoy the banter between judges Christina Aguilera and Adam Levine, but more than anything, I watch The Voice as a fan of the media industry. It offers a positive example of traditional and new media working together to create new forms of entertainment.

Today, the Wall Street Journal reported that television remains an effective advertising tool. By 2016, television advertising will capture 38 percent market share while online advertising will continue to increase steadily to 22 percent. Michael Zuna, chief marketing office at Aflac comments, “video is still an unbelievable medium that combines sight, sound and motion in a way that print and other static mediums do not.”

The Voice adds social networking and a new level of interaction to that list. The show is good for television, good for the Internet and good for audiences worldwide.

Twitter Fire Storm

Watching Colorado Unite on Social Media During the #BoulderFire

The continuously blurring lines between traditional and social media have never been more apparent to me than this past Monday (Labor Day) around noon MT. I was killing time at home between errands and decided to check my Twitter feed. Countless tweets tagged with #BoulderFire caught my eye and it became clear that a dangerous and destructive wildfire had broken out in the foothills.

The “traditional” side of me quickly turned on the television and I began furiously flipping through the local stations to find out more details. What did I find? Nothing. I couldn’t find a single station that had broken through the horrendous Monday afternoon television choices to report live from Boulder. So, the social media geek in me settled in on the couch, iPhone in hand, and read what seemed like hundreds of #BoulderFire tweets.

Information poured across my HootSuite dashboard faster than I could refresh the stream—evacuation details, TwitPic and YFrog images of the smoke and flames, animal rescue instructions, and Mile High Red Cross shelter announcements for evacuees. A few local Denver TV stations did seem to take notice of the social media groundswell regarding the fire and began retweeting first-hand accounts and important instructions. However, virtually witnessing the local and regional support from every day citizens was a powerful and exciting experience for me personally. Twitter was uniting Boulder and surrounding counties in real-time to come to the aid of those impacted.

Since Monday I’ve been monitoring the fires almost exclusively on Twitter. Some of my favorite updates include:

@alicia4181: I only know of the boulder fire because of twitter

@5280PRGal: Why do hurricanes get huge media coverage, yet I haven't seen much mention of the #boulderfire on @cnn @foxnews

@HumaneBoulder: For help w/pets 2nite call Dispatch 303-441-3333 Pets will be housed either here or transported by officer to @LongmontHumane #boulderfire

@jasper9: Is there a list of businesses offering assistance for #boulderfire anywhere? if not, lets get a public google doc going

@MelindaJordan: RT @lostremote: Twitter is playing a key role in #boulderfire, from evacuation alerts to independent reporting. http://bit.ly/9Xo9KG

@laurasrecipes: Just feeling so proud of this community...in awe of generosity, high tech information flow and amazing joining together...#BoulderFire

My prayers go out to everyone affected by this fire and I urge our local social media community to continue this virtual newsgathering and support system long after the TV trucks move to the next big story. If you know of any ways that @GroundFloorPR can help, please let us know. We would also appreciate your help in spreading the word about a fantastic effort by the Colorado Fall Home Show (@cogardenshowinc) to help with fire relief efforts. The Colorado Fall Home Show (presented by Colorado Garden Show Inc.), running this weekend (Sept. 10 – 12) at the Colorado Convention Center, announced it will donate $2.00 of every ticket sale to the Colorado Red Cross to help with relief efforts for the wildfire near Boulder. Thanks for your help!

~Alexis Anzalone (aka @aanzalone)