Twitter traffic disrupts Olympic event

Twitter traffic disrupts Olympic event - element14

Twitter has made its mark at London 2012 – but not in the way that organisers had hoped. Prior to the start of the event, organisers and sponsors made a concerted effort to encourage participants and others to engage with social media as a means of giving fans unprecedented access to the Athletes’ Village. Over the weekend, however, Twitter made a rather less helpful intervention, with a high volume of Tweets managing to disrupt the men’s cycling road race. It has been revealed that the electronic updates and times that broadcasters rely on to cover the event were disturbed by people trying to use the website. Initially, the BBC, the host broadcaster at the event, tried to absolve itself of any blame by pointing the finger at the Olympic Broadcasting Service. However, the IOC later confirmed that the disruption was the result of Twitter traffic. In fact, such was the level...

Full article: http://www.element14.com/community/docs/DOC-48826/l/twitt...