Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

The Web Braces For Inauguration Traffic

Posted by timothy on from the data-swamp-in-actual-swamp dept.

1sockchuck writes "Web sites and social networks are scaling up for huge traffic during today's Inauguration. Photo sharing sites are expecting a surge in volume around the noontime swearing-in, while Twitter has doubled its capacity. Some net watchers say peak volume may not match the record levels seen on Election Night 2008 (as reported by Akamai's Net Usage Index). As noted yesterday, DC-area wireless networks are the most likely bottleneck for messaging and photo sharing. "

12 of 212 comments (clear)

  1. I'm on the Mall right now by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's pretty freaking cold! Lots of energy and excitement here in the crowd.

    There are so many people here, it's hard to believe that this crowd is overshadowing the Million Man March as far as numbers of people goes.

    I took a leak earlier. It was so cold, the urine stream was sublimating to steam before it hit the bottom.

    I can't wait to see Obama on the dais!

    1. Re:I'm on the Mall right now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Please, tell us more about strangers having a fight (how unusual!) and your steaming urine.

      I know you're excited and all, but you're sort of embarrassing yourself.

    2. Re:I'm on the Mall right now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      look out for the snakes!! on the dais!!

      check out the big brain on barack!

      in France they call the inauguration "la royale with cheese"

    3. Re:I'm on the Mall right now by waferbuster · · Score: 4, Funny

      I can't believe that a First Post that includes references to Frosty Piss got modded informative!

      --
      I'm an individual! Just like everyone else!
    4. Re:I'm on the Mall right now by DavidTC · · Score: 4, Funny

      It is just the swearing in of another president....can't we just look at the digested version on the nights news?

      Um...yes? You can?

      --
      If corporations are people, aren't stockholders guilty of slavery?
  2. Historical Moment by Chabil+Ha' · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Whether you voted for the guy or not, one cannot deny the magnitude of Barack Obama's clinching of the U.S. Presidency. This past election has seen a level of participation from a large cross-section of our nation, showing America's concern for it's future, both home and abroad. While the tea leaves aren't revealing much about what the future holds, one can see that we have chosen to go down a different path than we have been going for the past eight years.

    It will be interesting in Obama's freshman year to see the challenges that confront him, how he'll deal with them, and how the public will react. I think more than anything, Barack will have trouble living up to the image of a 'Cristo Negro de Esquipulas', as many look at him as a messiah of sorts for the nation. That aside, we have a unique moment in history in which we will be asked what it was like when the first African American president was inaugurated, to which we'll reply that it was both exciting and uncertain. Exciting because it seems that we have grown from our bigoted and biased past, but uncertain, not because he's black, but because of the economic and foreign calamities and troubles that have been layed before us.

    --
    We're all hypocrites. We all have hidden parts, it's the contrast between them that make us more a hypocrite than others
    1. Re:Historical Moment by jcnnghm · · Score: 4, Informative

      Whether you voted for the guy or not, one cannot deny the magnitude of Barack Obama's clinching of the U.S. Presidency. This past election has seen a level of participation from a large cross-section of our nation, showing America's concern for it's future, both home and abroad.

      This is media-generated crap. 56.8% of the voting-age population voted in 2008, up from 55.3% in 2004, but below 1960, 64, and 68 at 63.1%, 61.9%, and 60.8% respectively. While the media would like you to believe that people turned out in unprecedented numbers solely to support Obama, that's not the case.

      --
      You don't make the poor richer by making the rich poorer. - Winston Churchill
    2. Re:Historical Moment by Neoprofin · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I don't mean to be a public buzzkill, but so far it looks like Obama's presidency is Clinton 2.0. Tweak out a few bugs, change the color scheme, but everything under the hood is still running the same. Barack Obama's greatest achievement thus far has been one of marketing, convincing everyone that despite his voting record and his cabinet appointments that he's somehow different from any other candidate.

      Don't worry though, the popularity of Barack Obama tattoos clearly shows that all of this new found political interest is having a positive effect. I mean why give money to charity or spend your time helping your common man when you can "be a part of history" and indulge your desire to declare that you're with the in crowd?

      I voted for Obama, I think he's the better man for the job, but this cult of personality has gotten people happy for all of the wrong reasons, and I honestly hope that in the next 4 years we judge the man on his actions, not on this, as you state, messiah image we have for him.

    3. Re:Historical Moment by Sage+Gaspar · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I'm getting a little tired of the weird Christian rhetoric people are developing about him. He's the first president in decades that a lot of us would view as a role model, morally and in terms of his character and abilities: longer than many of us have been alive. We're coming off what some would consider the worst eight years of those decades. He projects a thoughtful calm that gives us some faith in his diplomatic abilities as the head of our nation. On top of being the first black president. So forgive us if we might get a bit excited about this little ray of hope when we've had trouble believing in America and its future for a long time, let alone politics on a global scale.

      Yeah he's not going to live up to the widespread expectations. I fully realize that these are going to be hard times whoever we have in the presidency and he can only make some course corrections at best in conjunction with congress. He is going to have to compromise his ideals to get things done and he'll fuck up a bunch of times. Maybe it is just business as usual and we're going to realize what idealistic naive losers we've been and never trust a politician again. The jaded contingent wheeling out the Jesus analogies isn't helping do much of anything besides return it to business as usual faster though.

    4. Re:Historical Moment by DavidTC · · Score: 3, Insightful

      No kidding. I'd love a Clinton 2.0, even if that mean the Republicans are constantly making up shit and investigations that lead nowhere.

      I find it funny that Republicans are trying to reduce expectations down to 'Clinton'. Cause, you know, most Democrats really didn't have a problem with Clinton. Heck, Hillary Clinton, an actual Clinton 2.0, would have won the primary if she'd planned better.

      The right seems to think that everyone hated Clinton. No, that was just you guys, who constantly invented imaginary crime after crime, constantly spewing hate, and everyone else was just slightly annoyed by his philandering.

      Although I'd rather Obama didn't 'triangulate' progressive issues out of existence like Clinton did. And I'd rather he keep his pants on.

      --
      If corporations are people, aren't stockholders guilty of slavery?
  3. Re:2 million people? by cashman73 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The real question is, are all these people celebrating Obama being installed into office, or Dubya leaving? ;-)

  4. Re:2 million people? by mrops · · Score: 3, Funny

    See how many of them have shoes in their hands.