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"Super Bowl XLVI host city Indianapolis has concocted a new way to deal with the madness that comes with managing the world's biggest annual sporting event. The solution? The Super Bowl's first-ever social media command center. \nA team of strategists, analysts and techies will monitor the digital fan conversation via Facebook, Twitter and other platforms from a 2,800-square-foot space downtown. The station will open on Monday and run through Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5. The team will tweet directions to fans in search of parking, direct visitors to Indianapolis's best attractions, and stand by to provide information in case of a disaster. \n\"Social media is just how people interact now,\" said Taulbee Jackson, CEO of Raidious, the digital marketing agency that the Super Bowl's host committee tapped to manage the communications hub. \"We felt it was critical to have some horsepower behind that aspect of the Super Bowl here, versus what you might have seen from other Super Bowls.\"\nSome 150,000 people are expected to flood into downtown Indianapolis \u2014 where the game will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium \u2014 over Super Bowl weekend. \nAdvanced search tools and analytics will help Jackson and his team identify fans in need of help by indexing key words and phrases. For example, a fan won't need to tweet, \"where can I find parking?\" to get help; Raidious operatives will be able to pick up on a general phrase such as \"parking sucks\" to offer assistance. \nBut it won't be a simple operation. The command center will utilize more than a mile of Ethernet cable and more than 150 square feet of networked screen space. More than 20 people will man the center for 15 hours per day.\nResearchers from nearby Ball State University's Center for Media Design will conduct a study of the command center, analyzing its strengths and weaknesses. Michael Holmes, director of the center's Insight &amp; Research Unit, wrote in an email that the command center is an example of the \"the ubiquity of social media and the absolute necessity for companies, organizations and communities to use these tools to improve their relations with their customer, audiences and citizens.\" \nBoth Holmes and Jackson said they would not be surprised if the Super Bowl's first designated social-media war room sets a precedent for other major events.\n\"We're kind of breaking new ground here so we don't know the exact numbers yet of what we'll be dealing with, but we should be able to provide that after the game to other cities that have to deal with these types of issues,\" Jackson said. \"I think a lot of brands will start to see a need for something like this.\" \nWhat do you think about the Super Bowl's first-ever social media command center? Would you like to see major events set up more operations like this? Let us know in the comments. \n\nBONUS GALLERY: Who to follow on Twitter for the Super Bowl XLVI scoop\n\n\nWho to Follow for the Super Bowl Scoop\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n1. @SuperBowl2012\r\n\nThe official account of the 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee is a must-follow for fans going to the game. It will function as one of several channels directing fans to entertainment venues and addressing logistical concerns from the committee's social meda command center.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n2. @Giants\r\n\nThe New York Giants are the \"road\" team in Indianapolis, and this is the franchise's official Twitter account.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n3. @Patriots\r\n\nThe New England Patriots will be the \"home\" team on Super Bowl Sunday in Indy. Follow this official team account for the stream out of Foxborough.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n4. @shalisemyoung \r\n\nShalise Manza Young is the Patriots beat writer for the Boston Globe. Follow her for the day-to-day on what Bill Belichick is doing to try for a fourth Super Bowl ring with the Patriots.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n5. @RapSheet\r\n\nIan Rapoport  also reports on the Patriots and NFL, but for the Boston Herald. Following both him and Young will give you a taste of what it's like to be a local Boston sports fan right now.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n6. @TheBlueScreen \r\n\nRalph Vacchiano covers the Giants for the New York Daily News. Follow him for the latest on how Eli Manning and company are prepping for the Pats.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n7. @MikeGarafolo \r\n\nGarafolo is the Giants beat writer for New Jersey's Star-Ledger. Between him and Vacchiano, you should have every Giants angle covered.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n8. @deionbranch84\r\n\nPatriots receiver Branch was the Super Bowl MVP the last time the Patriots won it all, in 2005. He's also very active on Twitter, which is a bonus for fans seeking to add a human element to the game.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n9. @judybattista \r\n\nBattista covers the NFL for The New York Times. She's sure to churn out a couple nice features between now and Feb. 5, her deadline game-recaps are second to none, and she's also a good follow for real-time Twitter updates.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n10. @AdamSchefter\r\n\nSchefter is ESPN's NFL Insider and his 1.2 million followers dwarf nearly everyone else in sports media and serve as a testament to his continuous steam of breaking news, opinions and scuttlebutt. He's sure to provide plenty of interesting nuggets from around the league leading up to Super Bowl Sunday. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n11. @WesWelker\r\n\nPatriots receiver Welker puts up numbers; he's scored 10 touchdowns so far this year and has nearly 300,000 Twitter followers. His funny, off-the cuff tweets make him worth keeping up with.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n12. @greggrosenthal\r\n\nRosenthal writes about the NFL for NBCSports.com and, like Schefter, will provide a wealth of information from around the league as the NFL heads into its biggest weekend.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n13. @JustinTuckNYG91\r\n\nTuck is a star defensive end for the Giants and will be key to harassing Tom Brady into mistakes and miscues on Super Bowl Sunday. On Twitter, he posts frequently and interacts well with fans.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n14. @billbarnwell\r\n\nBarnwell covers the NFL for Grantland.com, and he'll surely bring some good and detailed analysis to get fans -- with or without a specific rooting interest -- primed for Super Bowl XLVI.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n15. @SI_PeterKing\r\n\nSports Illustrated's senior NFL writer is particularly good about responding to fan questions and comments on Twitter. See if he'll answer your Super Bowl queries!\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThumbnail image courtesy of iStockphoto, LUGO"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/01/21/super-bowl-xlvi-social-media/>