"Digital is one of the most crucial things for a modern brand manager to get right, so the pressure is on for (social media/digital strategist) Siobhan to explain her strategy. Twitter, Facebook, Mashable and even MySpace all have their part to play in creating the digital legacy for the Games."

BBC Two's Twenty Twelve comedy series (already a must-see) nails the overzealously social nature of the London 2012 Summer Olympics in the video above. All kidding aside, teams of social media strategists at the BBC and indeed around the world have been working almost as vigorously as the athletes, organizers and sponsors on how to make this the most interactive Olympic Games yet.

Since the previous Olympics in Beijing, tech advancements including Super Hi-Vision, live 3D TV and live broadcasting via smartphones have moved center-stage. Now the advent of social apps, social TV and social everything will be threaded through this Olympics, and — brace yourselves — all Olympics to come.Continue reading...

Barclays continues to innovate by taking a leading role in mobile payments in Europe. Having just launched the Pingit mobile payments app, it's now bringing contactless payments to Barclaycard, the UK's first credit card. Now, its 12 million Visa Barclaycard credit card customers can look forward to PayTag, a free sticker that enables mobile contactless transactions at more than 100,000 terminals. 

The easy-to-use PayTag sticker aims to spur the usage use of smartphones for small purchases, increasing the reach of the Quick Tap NFC (Near Field Communication) service the bank operates in partnership with mobile network operator Orange.Continue reading...

If the Tube system in London confuses you already, you might want to skip heading to England for the Olympics this summer. Just to confuse you a little more, a new map has come out of the Underground with 361 station stops renamed for Olympic greats.

The map is being sold on Transport for London's website prior to the 2012 Summer Games. Each subway stop of the London Underground Olympics Legend map is "renamed" for athletes from different sport, so one is all swimming while another is all track and field. The map was designed by former BBC sports journalist Alex Trickett and sports historian David Brooks.

The duo chose an American athlete to represent the main Olympic venue's stop: swimmer Michael Phelps, whose 14 gold medals make him the most successful Olympian of all time. The station nearby is Cassius Clay, named for the famed boxer who fought in the 1960 Olympics of Rome and won gold before changing his name to Muhammad Ali. Longtime rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are next to each other, with Fed getting the bigger tube stop.Continue reading...

Among the Olympics sponsors celebrating the 365-day countdown to the start of the London 2012 summer games, Adidas taped this promo with rapper Snoop Dogg. The spot's description:

Snoop Dogg and Warren G joined British triple jumper Phillips Idowu in a 3 on 3 basketball match against GB basketballers in the Olympic borough of Greenwich, London, to mark the one year to go countdown to the London 2012 Olympic Games. Snoop Dogg is all in, Warren G is all in, Idowu is all in. London 2012, adidas is all in.

The London 2012 site is sponsoring a Twitter promotion today, inviting fans from around the world to "fill its stadium" with tweets. According to Marketing Week, 2012 sponsors running "one year to go" promotions in the UK include BP, Lloyds Bank, British Airways and Holiday Inn:Continue reading...