Reports cause temporary strains and problems as users flock to Internet for news and tributes.
If anyone tried to tweet yesterday afternoon after the announcement of Michael Jackson’s death it was likely that you received an “fail whale “error message from Twitter. As news of his death was first reported at 5:20 EST, users flooded news sites for confirmation of his death. When it was announced around 6:30 EST that the music legion had indeed passed away Internet sites such as Facebook and Twitter were flooded with people spreading the news and relaying messages of grief and shock.
With the confirmation of his death from multiple news outlet came a 50 percent spike of Internet usage to online news sites. Twitter saw an influx of 5,000 Michael Jackson tweets a minute, and Facebook saw their Michael Jackson posts triple in that same short time period. Facebook had over 10,000 visits to pages dedicated to the singer. Celebrities and non -celebrities alike used Facebook and Twitter to express shock and grief over his death, to mourn and share stories of his influence.
Google was so slammed with traffic that the site initially interpreted it as an attack on the site. Engineers were able to work and fix the slowdown due to the influx of traffic. Other sites such as iTunes and Ebay were also flooded as fans flocked to download and buy music and memorabilia of the singer. Many sites have reportedly even had their stock depleted of Michael Jackson music and videos since yesterday.
Not many icons have the ability to test the Internet and the boundaries of popular news and social networking sites but the news have tested the boundaries. Users did experience some delays but overall most sites were able to still perform despite the high traffic. Overall the Internet proved to be resilient and hasn’t affected the Internet infrastructure as some experts feared. With the death of someone as iconic as Michael Jackson Internet traffic will continue to be high as news updates and tributes continue.
For more info: Internet strained by Michael Jackson's death
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