Useful for: Short, sweet updates and some lively back-and-forth discussion.
What it is: The microblogging site, which features news updates in spurts of 140 characters, is host to a bevy of Olympics-related feeds. If you're not sure whom to follow, take a look at NBC's Olympic Pulse "Tweet Sheet" (which features tweets by athletes and analysts), the New York Times' Winter Olympics Twitter list (athletes and organizations), or just check out the #Olympics hashtag search results.
If you're looking for official updates, the International Olympics Committee has a Twitter account (@Olympics), as does Vancouver 2010 (@2010tweets). And of course, for straight coverage follow @NBCOlympicZone
Why you should check it out: Twitter lends a personal element to the games — you can follow athletes, teams (follow Team USA @USOlympic), and other fans. And if you dream of being an Olympic athlete one day, check out @OlympicHealth for tips from Olympians on diet, training, and recovery.
The New York Times' Olympics Site
Useful for: Lots and lots of Olympics-related facts and information.
What it is: A ton of great features to enrich an Olympic-watching experience — all in one place. While naturally centered around news articles from the Times' staff, it also features interactive graphics (such as this one on countries that have won gold medals in past Winter Olympics games), and informative pages for each sport.
While I wouldn't recommend this site for straight results, it's a great place to learn more about the games you're watching. Each sport page features a great deal of information on the sport itself — including an explanation of the sport, its history, and how it's scored — something no other site (that I've seen so far) has managed to put together.
Why you should check it out: For the first time in your life, you'll be able to watch figure skating or alpine skiing and understand what you're seeing and how it's scored — and you might even discover some fun background facts to impress your friends with.
Vancouver 2010 Olympics Official Site
Useful for: Information on events surrounding the Games.
What it is: The official spot for all things official: art, merchandise, and ticket information. It's a great place to learn about all things surrounding the Olympics — including the 2010 Paralympic Games (which take place March 12-21) and project Canada CODE (a collaborative online project of Canadian stories, photos, and artwork). After all — to some — the Olympic Games are more about culture and less about scores and times.
One drawback: It's not the best site for quick result info. It does have schedules, results, and up-to-date multimedia (though not streaming video), but numbers are a bit lost in the complex-but-visually-breathtaking design.
Why you should check it out: In addition to the above, Vancouver 2010 features an interactive Olympic Torch relay map, which includes clickable checkpoints of where the Olympic Torch has been. Each checkpoint has a map of the Torch route, as well as photos and stories from the event.
Websites are not your only options, of course. If you want to stay even more up-to-date on the latest Olympics news, try one of the several free iPhone apps — there's an official one, and two (including a "cheer app") from NBC.
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