The social life: Life plays out on the internet

Social media makes it easier to watch sport from wherever you are, but it can also give scores away. Photo/Thinkstock

Social media is both a blessing and a curse when it comes to live events, as I'm sure most will have experienced at some time or other. Hands up who has recorded a rugby match or other live sport to watch when you get home? Or who has stayed up to watch delayed coverage on Prime only to have the match result broadcast by your mates on Facebook or Twitter?

At the same time, if you've wanted to be at a big sporting occasion (or little, social media doesn't discriminate) then you can stay in touch with everything that's going on with a simple glance at the screen on your mobile device.

In this day and age of living in the moment social media is showing its strengths. If TV One hadn't backed down and screened the Grammys live on Auckland Anniversary Day then no doubt it would have been Twitter and Facebook where people would have turned for social commentary - we turned to them anyway but only to celebrate rather than for information.

This week has been the Oscars and we've even been able to participate - Ellen's selfie broke the world record for the amount of retweets. Who knew we could each play a part in that?

On Saturday social media and technology combined to give me an amazing Ironman experience, all without leaving Rotorua. I had wanted to share the goosebumps and be in the crowd at Taupo but circumstances prevented me from doing so.

Instead I settled for what lots of people would consider the poor cousin, but I know my experiences were felt city-wide.

A live feed at the finish line so you could watch your friends and family cross the line in real time, a live blog following the professionals race, athlete tracking giving race splits each time competitors crossed several timing mats and individual athlete tracking you could sign up for ahead of the big race. The only way to better that would be for all competitors to have GPS trackers on themselves to be able to watch the racing in real time.

I know I wasn't the only person hooked, non Ironman followers were also watching when they could. And when you add in tweets and Facebook it really was an all round experience. With social media we are one big audience as well as the providers and participants. How cool is that?