LONDON 2012: Olympic attendees asked to "take it easy" on Twitter, or BBC coverage could fail
Planning on tweeting at the London 2012 Olympic games? Perhaps you should think twice, as network overloads could jeopardise the TV coverage being broadcast from the games, including that of the BBC.
Those watching the televised road race coverage on Saturday may have experienced the effects of excessive tweeting first hand. Time and distance data, vital for TV audiences trying to make sense of the long-distance event, were not being transmitted as expected as local networks and GPS satellite data streams were overloaded.
An International Olympic Committee spokesman speaking to Reuters said, “Of course, if you want to send something we are not going to say ‘Don’t, you can’t do it’, and we would certainly never prevent people.
“It’s just – if it’s not an urgent, urgent one, please kind of take it easy.”
The official conceded that his request “may not have an awful lot of effect”, stating that “it’s a network issue that we are working on.”
