So much for being the “social media” Olympic Games. “Non-essential” text messages and tweets during the 2012 London Olympics will have to stop, with the International Olympic Committee blaming them for GPS issues that affected television commentary.
Where have I heard this similar excuse before, hmm?
Basically, the cyclists have GPS devices so commentators can determine how far each cyclists are ahead of each other. However, network congestion meant that information was never sent out, which then meant people complaining to Twitter about the coverage of cycling, which then caused more problems.
Talking to Reuters, BT, Vodafone and O2 have said that they didn’t have any problems with their networks. BT is also the official “communications services” supplier to the London 2012 Games – but their “we’re fine” statement could basically be overall rather the specific towers around the track.
The London 2012 games were supposed to be the first “social media Games”, according to Reuters, meaning that most of the coverage would be internet-based, as opposed to traditional mediums. People can keep up to date via Twitter – both from sporting organisations and the athletes themselves. Of course, as seen with the Australian team, they’ll be under strict instructions on what they can’t tweet – like those who aren’t sponsors.
Shame we don’t get the same thing here in Australia.