I actually laid awake last night thinking about this post. I knew I needed to write this post. I also knew that I didn’t want to rehash the negative conversation revolving the #social46 and the game. Better late than never… right?

For those of you not tuned into the conversation here is the basic outline around the #social46. I decided to borrow from Jay Baer’s post – Klout, the Super Bowl and Our Addiction to Shooting the Messenger because frankly… Jay is the better writer. 🙂

Two weeks ago, I received a Klout Perk to be part of the Social 46, a gathering of Indiana’s top social media influencers. According to the Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee, Klout was used to help identify the participants, and the list was augmented manually with known local bloggers, gadflies, and connectors.

The goal set by the Super Bowl Host Committee was (and still is) to help make Super Bowl XLVI the most connected Super Bowl ever. The committee decided to build a group of people to help initially push the social momentum. There has been much debate on the validity of the scoring, picking, and segmenting of the #Social46. Honestly, I’m not even going to discuss it. I find it completely ridiculous. I’m going to revert back to the Host Committee’s goal in the first place:

Our goal is to make the Indianapolis Super Bowl XLVI the most connected Super Bowl of all time.

Could there have been more planning? A better roll out? Better scoring? More people initially folded into the #social46 mix? Less feelings hurt? Probably.

Do people make mistakes when shooting for the stars? Of course.

Does the host committee have more to worry about than hurt feelings of self-important social media users? Absolutely.

The committee was tasked to take a (relatively) small city and transform it into the epicenter of one of the largest sporting events in the world. In my opinion, they deserve a standing ovation for what they have accomplished over the past year.

The #social46 is not meant to be a group of people but a hashtag used to show the world how proud we are of this city. I love Indianapolis and I love that the majority of social media users have stepped up and shared their insight, excitement, and networks.

Tips to Helping the Host Committee:

  1. Click over to the Indianapolis Host Committee’s website to check out information on the NFL Experience, Super Bowl Village and other events.
  2. Attend Tweetups held throughout the city.
  3. Follow @SuperBowl2012 on Twitter.
  4. Follow @Raidious and keep tabs on the epic (first-ever) Social Media Command Center
  5. Send (or post) 2-3 thoughts per day on social media about the Super Bowl and Indianapolis.
  6. Follow the hashtags – #social46 #superbowl #sb46