Olympics attendees asked to 'take it easy' on tweets and texts

Olympics attendees asked to 'take it easy' on tweets and texts
Our trusty friends not so trusty now

Visitors to the London 2012 Olympic Games have been asked to 'take it easy' on texting and tweeting from events as networks become overloaded.

A network blockage caused problems for BBC commentators on Saturday as timing data wasn't getting through from the GPS satellite navigation system from cyclists in the men's road race because excited spectators were clogging up the system.

An International Olympic Committee spokesman 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."

Network issue

He went on to concede that this desperate plea "may not have an awful lot of effect", especially during an event being dubbed 'The Social Olympics'.

"It's a network issue, and it is that which we are working on," he added, although he declined to say which network was experiencing the oversubscription.

In related news, we were all surprised to see Twitter manage to stay up all the way through the Opening Ceremony on Friday – according to Twitter, the most tweeted moment came as Rowan Atkinson took the stage as Mr Bean.

News Editor (UK)

Former UK News Editor for TechRadar, it was a perpetual challenge among the TechRadar staff to send Kate (Twitter, Google+) a link to something interesting on the internet that she hasn't already seen. As TechRadar's News Editor (UK), she was constantly on the hunt for top news and intriguing stories to feed your gadget lust. Kate now enjoys life as a renowned music critic – her words can be found in the i Paper, Guardian, GQ, Metro, Evening Standard and Time Out, and she's also the author of 'Amy Winehouse', a biography of the soul star.