Steven Marx, the occasional Twitter user whose #NBCFail tweet last week preceded a deluge of criticism of NBC’s Olympics coverage on the social network, says the prescient hashtag came to him without much thought for what it would become.
“It was just something I made up off the top of my head — I rarely use hashtags, but this was sort of a rant,” Marx told Mashable. “I probably used it assuming it had been used before or would be used again, so there was probably some anticipation. But I have very few followers, so I didn’t expect anything like this.”
Since Mashable first reported Marx being the originator of the Summer Olympics‘ #NBCFail hysteria, he says he’s fielded interview requests from CNN.com and What’s Trending. Marx’s movement-starting status was called to our attention by the social media analytics company Peoplebrowsr.
Marx is a 48-year-old stay-at-home dad and part-time web designer in Peoria, Illinois. Here is his pseudo-historic tweet:
Interesting how NBC never mentions you need a cable/satellite subscription w/MSNBC/CNBC to view any coverage online. We’re screwed.
#NBCFail— Steven Marx (@stevenmarx) July 27, 2012
Marx posted the message on Thursday, nearly 24 hours before the Olympics’ opening ceremony. On July 27, the day of the ceremony, there were just 212 #NBCFail tweets, according to Peoplebrowsr. By July 28, there were 6,000. By July 29, there were 20,000.
While many have pointed out that the hashtag has been used before in the history of Twitter — most notably during the 2010 Games in Vancouver — Marx kicked off its usage this year, when criticism of NBC on Twitter has reached unprecedented proportions during the world’s “first social games.”
Disgruntled tweeters use the hashtag to complain about shoddy streaming experiences, editorial mistakes and — most of all — NBC’s preference for obfuscating footage of major Olympic events until airing tape-delayed primetime broadcasts stateside. After Twitter suspended the account of British journalist Guy Adams — acceding to an NBC request — the hashtag became a trending topic.
“Because I’m older, I remember when all we had was TV. They’d show events live during the day, then have the night coverage to show highlights and big events again,” Marx says. “I’m a big fan of live sports. If I know the result, I’m much less interested in watching.”
Marx has tweeted just over 350 times since joining Twitter in April of 2009. When he posted his #NBCFail message, he had under 20 followers — but that count has since swelled to a relatively robust 66. So, with the newfound attention, can we expect an increase in tweetage?
“Now that I have more followers, I guess I’ll use it more,” Marx says. “I mean, I’ve got to give them something, I suppose.”
Do you think #NBCFail is just Twitter users picking on old media — or does the hashtag really mean NBC is blowing its Olympics coverage? Give us your take in the comments.
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