Yesterday saw the International Paralympic Committee release their guidelines on the use of Social Media during the games in London next year.  In a refreshing change to the normal reaction to new technologies, especially those that affect communication, they are encouraging athletes to maximise its use.

What they have come up with is not a list of ‘Do Nots’, though there a few to ensure that the Paralympic partners are covered.  It is mainly around athletes taking responsibility for what they are posting online.

Craig Spence, IPC Media & Communications Senior Manager, said: “The IPC wants to make the London 2012 Paralympics a truly digital Games.

“We want to use the power of social media to spread the Paralympic vision and share the Paralympic experience so that anyone anywhere in the world can be part of these Games.

“In producing the new guidelines we have gone back to the drawing board and also consulted with the IPC Athletes’ Council to ensure their views are represented.

“Many of our athletes are already on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. What these Guidelines aim to do, as well as encouraging them to embrace social media, is also protect the integrity of the Paralympic Games and anyone associated with them.”

You can have a look at the full guidelines here.  I’ve picked out some of the highlights to give you an idea of the restrictions that athletes will have to abide by;

• Encouraged to use Social Media during Games time
• No interviews or stories about other accredited athletes
• No private or confidential informational to be posted
• Cannot add content for commercial and/or advertising purposes
• Only add video/audio taken outside of the venues
• Can film in the accommodation areas
• Any pictures taken tagged with ‘ParalympicSport.tv’ on Facebook and ‘@paralympic’ on Twitter

This is a sensible use of social by the IPC as they recognise that they are not going to get the same global attention as the Olympic Games, that takes place just before it, is going to get.  They need to encourage as much conversation around the Games as possible and having the content being provided by the athletes taking part is a great way to engage the world.

Media often quote athletes from a multitude of sports and having these quotes to use from Paralympic athletes will be ideal for the daily papers and websites covering the sports.  It also gives a great insight into who they are, the stories about them and how they cope with the pressure of competing at the biggest event on the planet.