London2012 to break the net, Facebook ads reach mobile, Super Bowl breaks Twitter record, UK's tweeting snow & Samsung's Super Bowl Apple attack

2012 Olympics to break the internet

According to an official government PDF titled 'Preparing Your Business For the Games' on the official London 2012 website, we should be prepared to accept slow internet speeds and patchy mobile coverage. It warns that "in very severe cases, there may be drop outs due to an increased number of people accessing the internet."

The document also states that ISPs could add data caps at peak times to maintain operations.

Facebook to roll-out mobile ads

The world's largest social network will slowly begin to display ads to mobile users this March. This will come in the form of 'featured stories' in the news feed, much like the web version of Facebook.  

Facebook recently launched a $5 billion IPO and continues to grow at an incredible rate.

Super Bowl sees crazy Twitter numbers

In the final three minutes of the Super Bowl, there was an average of 10,000 tweets per second (600,000 in a minute and 1.8 million in three minutes), according to Twitter. Madonna's half-time show saw 8,000 tweets per second for five minutes. Tweets came from around the world, and last night's numbers beat the previous record of 9,000 tweets for when Beyonce announced her pregnancy at the MTV Video Awards last year.

Twitter used by councils and BAA for snow updates

After two years of disaster in Britain's airports and streets following a bit of snow, the BAA and many councils focused on Twitter to update travellers and residents. The BAA contacted flyers much earlier than last year about anticipated cancellations, delays or poor weather conditions. Each airport had its own channel to interact with enquiries and to post constant updates about flights and their runaways. 

Councils, instead, used Twitter to relay gritting schedules and updates to their local residents. Some councils received positive responses to their coordination and clear communications. 

Samsung targets Apple (again) in Super Bowl ad

The Super Bowl is the US' biggest event, both for sport and for advertising. It often involves the biggest brands advertising to over 100 million viewers. Samsung took this opportunity to do what it does best in recent months - slagging Apple off. The latest ad features the once-famous British band The Darkness, and continuous mockery of iPhone fans and their infamous launch queues, stereotyped personalities and limited features.  

The ad was directed by Bobby Farrelly, famous for There's Something About Mary and Dumb and Dumber. You can view the ad here.