The Olympics continue to grip the world, but there's something very different about this year's games - the social media effect.

Continue reading

There are a lot of complaints about the Olympics not being aired live. With  real-time Twitter and Facebook result posts everywhere online, many feel their experience is being ruined.

D.C. resident Ron Lebourn struggles daily to avoid real-time results on-air or online.

"I don't look towards trying to read all the results. My wife and i try to watch it as it was live...," Lebourn said.

Carolina Cruz is in the opposite situation. She's on Twitter constantly trying to get the latest results.

Cruz added, "I guess because I don't need to be in front of the TV all day, sometimes I like to know the results faster.

Social media, specifically Twitter, has changed the Olympics for athletes, as well as for those who cover the games.

Less than a week into the games, two athletes have been bounced from their competitions for posting racist tweets.

U.S. soccer player Hope Solo was caught in a high profile Twitter fight with soccer legend Brandi Chastian.

Journalist Guy Adams even had his Twitter account removed and reinstated after posting the email address of an NBC executive, so people could lodge their complaints about the network delaying the games. 

"It wasn't a private email address. It was his work email address. It wasn't hard to find. In fact, it was already on the internet," Adams said.

And then there was the blunder Monday night. Six minutes before showing a race featuring swimmer Missy Franklin, the network showed a promo revealing the results.

Danny Rouhier with WJFK Radio said, "I'm sitting there going, did they just?!.... They did... I know now granted I'm kind of an idiot, but I'm surprised something didn't catch that I guess..."

Tweeting has also resulted in an arrest. A 17-year-old man told Britain's most popular Olympic diver on Twitter he disappointed his late father by failing to win a medal. He was arrested on suspicion of malicious communications.