Contradiction of China's Failed Online Olympic Ticket Release
Recently, the Washington Post reported on the failure of the Chinese government’s efforts to offer 2008 Olympic tickets online. When tickets were offered on a first-come, first-served system via in person, telephone and through the Internet, “[h]igh demand caused the central computer system to crash and phone lines were jammed,” the Post reported. As a result, tickets will now be distributed through a random drawing - no doubt, a frustration to those who had hoped to secure tickets early and easily.
Considering the numbers of people who sought to get Olympic tickets this way is instructive. The WashPost report provides some insight:
[I]n the first hour of ticketing, 8 million page views on the Olympics site crashed the system. Officials said it was designed to handle 1 million hits an hour. At the same time, the ticketing hotline received 3.8 million calls, overwhelming the network. Congestion and data delays also slowed sales at the bank branches.
The failure of the Beijing Olympics e-commerce effort is seemingly in contradictation with the governments application of large-colume computing and data processing for other purposes. According to report from the Open Net Initiative, China pursues “a Herculean effort to tame the Internet activities and expression of over 100 million citizens”. With Internet use surging, from 94 million in 2005 to 137 million users in 2006, Internet censorship and control is a growing challenge for the government. Nonetheless, ONI states that its censorship and control efforts increasingly successful and effective.
Perhaps consulting with the Ministry of Information Industry and Ministry of Public Security - two of China’s leading Internet control agencies, would have aided Beijing Olympic Committee’s ticket release efforts. They appear to have a handle on managing Internet volume.