Uncle Sam wants you for a very important mission: Seeing American Olympians off to the Winter Olympics with plenty of good vibes, as part of Team USA's "digital sendoff" this Thursday.
The idea is to amass an outpouring of well-wishes via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Google+ for the athletes who will represent the United States in Sochi, Russia, beginning Feb. 7. In return, many of those athletes will interact with fans via online chats and video hangouts.
See also: The Olympics' Social Media Secret Weapon
The sendoff runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET on Jan. 23.
Team USA's Twitter account will feature question-and-answer sessions with luger Erin Hamlin, skeleton athlete John Daly and bobsledders Steve Langton and Jamie Greubel from 12 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. ET. Figure skating siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani will take over from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Then, from 3:30 p.m to 3:45 p.m., it'll be skiers Devin Logan and Nick Goepper.
Langton, Daly, Gruebel, Hamlin and Josh Sweeney (a Paralympian in sled hockey) will participate in Google+ Hangouts from 12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET. Goepper, Logan and figure skaters Felicia Zhang and Nathan Bartholomay will do so from 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
On the same day, DJ Steve Porter will reveal a crowdsourced video featuring good-luck messages from Team USA fans, which will be posted to Team USA's website and YouTube channel.
The official hashtag for Team USA's digital sendoff is #GoTeamUSA. Messages shared by fans with that hashtag can be seen by athletes, and will also be posted to social.teamusa.org, the U.S Olympic Committee's social-media hub for the Games.
That social hub is another key part of the U.S. Olympic Committee's digital strategy this winter. Much like the International Olympic Committee's hub that helped connect athletes and fans from every nationality during the 2012 Summer Olympics, it will function as a slimmed-down, USA-centric point of digital contact. The hub will feature top tweets and social aggregation about American teams and athletes, showcase supportive messages from fans, and host online chats between athletes and fans. Fans can also tailor specialized social feeds for specific sports or athletes.
Other Team USA digital activations for the Winter Olympics include the Road to Sochi app and a social game called Pinsanity.
Pinsanity is a Facebook-based game that takes inspiration from the longstanding tradition among Olympics fans of collecting and trading pins related to the Games. Fans are encouraged to collect and trade digital pins — there are hundreds commemorating a range of moments and topics — in a friendly competition with friends. Some pins will only be unlocked after certain achievements by the actual Olympians (i.e. important wins or reaching the medal stand).
The Road to Sochi app for Android and iOS delivers behind-the-scenes content, and allows fans to tailor their own customized content feeds by sport and athlete.
For more on Team USA's digital activations, visit TeamUSA.org.

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