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Earlier this year, Snapchat and NBC announced that they would be working together to bring the  2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympics to Snapchat users across the globe. The deal agreed to show highlights from the 2016 Summer Games which is a HUGE deal as this is the first time the network has agreed to share video of the sporting contest on social media in real time.  

 

Buzzfeed will assist NBC by curating short clips and behind the scenes footage while Snapchat will create and share live stories daily, using content from NBC, athletes and sports fans at the scene. NBC, BuzzFeed and Snapchat combining their information and resources and social influences so that everyone can now stay up to date with the 2016 Rio Games and athletes. 

 

This is beneficial for Snapchat users of all ages as it gives the older generation what they want at the tip of their fingers and gives the younger generations content in their face so that they may learn more and engage with sports.
 
Billions of people watch and only a small portion get to attend the games, so Live Stories from Snapchat are amazing. 
 

When viewers are watching the Olympics this year, beginning with the opening ceremonies, there is a new set of geofilters, stickers, bitmojis and lenses so that everyone may take part in the celebration of the Olympics. 

 

 

New Snapchat Features in Honor of the Olympics 

GeoFilters

Geofilters are country specific and available across 50 countries. The Geofilters include patriotic colors and a medal will include a medal counter for the specific country. 

 

Stickers

Special stickers were created to celebrate the Games - the variety consists of words / expressions (to encourage the athletes or express excitement), an Olympic torch, fireworks and flags for example.  

 

Lenses

Animated selfie lenses that include fireworks, patriotic colors and memorabilia (like swim caps and headbands). These animated selfie lenses vary by country, some examples include swim caps for one's head and / or flag animation for the cheeks. 

 

Filters

After swiping right once you have taken an image, certain filters will appear allowing you to add a location, words of encouragement or animations to your image. 

The amount of people that watch TV has declined drastically as many are focused on mobile information that can be accessed in the moment. 

 

Bitmojis

The bitmojis are similar to stickers, but are customized emojis based on how you set it up. In celebration of the Olympics, the bitmojis feature the torch or other swag from the games.  These bitmojis can be sent in chats or added to snaps. 

 

Medal Count

Medal count filter available as well, specific to the geolocation of the Snapchat account user. 

 

Discovery 

Each day, I visit certain brands Discovery channels which inform and inspire me. For the Olympics, NBC and Buzzfeed have partnered to contribute to a temporary channel. Though informative, the most popular content is in the 'stories' section as it is live captures of the events going on. 

 

Live Stories

Live stories have the ability to highlight what’s going on on the fields, in the village and in Rio. By being able to see and experience the games through the Olympians and fans eyes - viewers are able to get the inside scoop so that they may feel as though they are there too.

The curated content containing highlights of games in certain cities is submitted by Snapchat users. For example, the Coachella music festival in California received 800 hours of video submitted by people present at the music event. 

 

Follow Team Canada and Kitchener's very own Mandy Bujold on their journey in Rio by scanning their snapcode below. 

 

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The Mad Hatters support all of Team Canada, but in particular Mandy Bujold, a local hero. Check out her website below to leave well wishes and stay up to date with her adventures in Rio -  www.mandymadness.com 

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