Jackson’s death almost takes the internet with him

Jacksons death caused Twitter outages, as portrayed by Raul Orozco in this take on Twitters fail whale

Jackson's death caused Twitter outages, as portrayed by Raul Orozco in this take on Twitter's fail whale

How many people does it take to break the Internet? one — if that one is Michael Jackson. Micheal Jackson’s untimely passing has been causing some whale-sized problems for a lot of websites.

Unsurprisingly, Twitter struggled as thousands of tweets came in about the devastating news. Reports of fail whales were high. While I didn’t get any fail whales, the tweets to my phone were delayed by hours. I finally texted “off” and then “on” at around 4pm and sometime between 2am and 8am the tweets went through and my cellphone was back in sync.

The site that first confirmed his death, TMZ, was down several times throughout the last 24 hours. Even google was struggling to keep up with the huge surge of searches in relation to Michael’s death, and yes I am partially responsible. I googled it. So what? I have no TV. Popular blog sites, such as Perez Hilton’s, experienced problems as well.

The CNN website, which also is my source of this information, faired well during the ordeal. Probably because they were the last to confirm his death, and they had many of their facts out of whack. Initially CNN reported that Jackson was alive but in a coma, only to affirm his death several hours after TMZ.

For a guy who had so many fans, Michael only told a select few people that he was very lonely despite being a global icon. Whether or not his criminal allegations were true, it seems many wanted to bring him down for his money and for their fifteen minutes of fame, and not just be a true friend. This is probably why he had a connection with kids who just enjoyed life and didn’t worry about fame and fortune. As much as he was liked, it’s sad to see that no one really loved him as much as he loved others.

RIP MJ.

  • I don't have "working" TV either. I found out through a text but have no fancy web stuff on my phone guess it is just as well eh? I think your assesment of his being lonely and finding friends in children is right. We could all learn a lot from the innocent, non-judgemental nature of young children. Most of the time :)
    .-= Jessie´s last blog ..Pink =-.
  • jim
    Imagine the disappointment tomorrow (the third day) though, when he doesn't rise up, throw open the doors of the mortuary, and proclaim a new concert!!
  • or maybe everyone will think he's like tupac and under witness protection!
  • MJ even trumped the election participation. I wonder what that says about our society? Last night the mediums and the messages converged and exploded.

    What I know for sure is that People + TV + Mobile + Digital x #michaeljackson = instant phenomena.
    .-= Joanna Pena-Bickley´s last blog ..ON: The Michael Jackson effect - #michaeljackson =-.
  • Yes, his death says a lot about our society. I also don't understand how people are crying over the ordeal. It is a sad situation, yes; but if you didn't know him personally there's no reason to act as though he was your best friend.
  • I avoided twitter completely last night. I knew it would probably be stopped up.
  • Mack
    I do not know what is the problem with Nancy Grace. She said last night that Micheal's child molestation case is now between him and God. It is the most outrageous comment I have ever heard. For goodness sake the guy just died. Please let the guy rest in peace.
  • Agreed.
  • let's get real
    okay, so he died
    people do it every day
    who gives a shit
  • As a musician, I do.
  • My mom told me about it this afternoon...i think it hasn't sinked in for me yet. It's sad for the whole world. May he rest in peace!
    .-= Karen´s last blog ..T.D.M.L.: Goose Chased!! =-.
  • Nice post!!

    MJ kinda peaked in my book back in the mid-eighties.

    Lots of talent.

    A poster-child for the idea that fame and fortune do not equal happiness.
  • Nora
    Too funny!!!
  • I heard about all the internet problems... I'm not surprised though. Michael Jackson was always popular. Some people loved his music, some people loved his dancing, and some people loved to make fun of him. Regardless, everyone knew him.

    Seriously, it's so sad to hear about Michael Jackson. As a dancer, I've performed almost every one of his hits in some form or another. A lot of celebrities have died recently, but he's the first one that had a big impact on my life personally. It's a really weird feeling. Anyway, nice post. ;)
  • Twitter definitely stopped working for me. I didn't stop receiving tweets on my TweetDeck, though. I had been checking out the Michael Jackson trending topic, and a message came up that said 4300+ (don't remember the exact number) new tweets on this topic, click to refresh. I hit refresh, and Twitter was down. It was insane!

    RIP MJ
    .-= Britt´s last blog ..Flashback Friday: Diaries Are For Sharing! =-.
blog comments powered by Disqus