Michael Jackson left the offline world last week forever, but his online presence has exploded into the infinite, and very much alive, abyss.
Much of the media has commented on the passing of Michael Jackson and the social media shock waves that jolted through the online hemisphere. Jackson had a profound effect on people all over the world. His passing left a void in the industry, but it also brought a new type of influence and swarm to the internet that hasn’t occurred with this magnitude before. This is because the last worldwide sensation to pass was probably Princess Diana, who died August 31, 1997–well before the Internet waves of influence were formed in a massive way.
When Princess Diana passed, mourners sent flowers and flocked to remembrance sites to grieve and show their appreciation for a woman, like Jackson, that touched the lives of people all over the world. There was less of a focus towards her online memorial, and more of one offline, in real time and space. Today, in 2009, the day Jackson died spurred a Tsunami-like fervor online where sites like Digg Labs, Twitter and Facebook were stunned and stunted by the colossal reactions from users. Reports of his death drove, “RIP Michael Jackson” tweets and Facebook updates that drastically slowed traffic flow. People were reacting in the way they felt was appropriate–online.
Today, Jackson’s online legacy is charging towards infamy due to the massive mourning and remembrance that the Internet allows for. The Facebook stats from the MJ memorial, streamed live online in association with Facebook and CNN, were released today with 500,000+ updates–more than the craze during the Obama inauguration–and is now the most successful live Facebook event in history. Twitter, was also widely used during the memorial, and had Jackson named in all the top ten trends spots, a very rare occurrence.
Jackson has a myriad of sites and pages dedicated to his life and memory. So, if you feel the urge to show your appreciation for The King of Pop, here is a breakdown of where you can still find Michael, living alive and well, online:
michaeljackson.com
twitter.com/michaeljackson
facebook.com/michaeljackson
Over 500 Facebook tributes
myspace.com/michaeljackson
youtube.com/michaeljackson
imeem.com/michaeljackson
last.fm/music/Michael+Jackson
bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=8732761028
Of all the Facebook tributes and websites, our favorite has to be, Michael Jackson’s “eternal moonwalk.”
