Depending on your perspective, this is either interesting news or heartening news: Michael Jackson’s funeral and memorial were indeed a giant Internet event. But they don’t seem to have been as big as Michael Jackson’s death, and they weren’t as big as Barack Obama’s inauguration. So, let’s call them the third-biggest Web event of the year. To date.
Looks like I called this one wrong: Earlier in the day, I predicted that Web interest in Michael Jackson’s funeral would be less than expected because anyone who really cared about this would be watching on TV. Nope.
Michael Jackson’s funeral service starts at 1 pm Eastern today and you will have to try very hard not to see it: In addition to wall-to-wall coverage on the news channels, any Web site capable of live-streaming the event will be doing so. Is the Internet ready for the coming traffic jam? I’m betting it is.
One last Michael Jackson Web traffic story: Google says it received so many search queries with the late singer’s name on Thursday that it thought it was being targeted by an “automated attack.” Which meant that some visitors looking for Jackson info on Google News got an error message for about 25 minutes yesterday.
Remember all those stories about Web sites buckling under the weight of all that Michael Jackson traffic? Here’s the flip side, now being promoted by those same Web sites: Look at all of our Michael Jackson traffic! Yahoo, for instance, wants us to know that Jackson’s demise has been its good fortune. “Michael Jackson rushed to hospital” was the site’s “highest clicking” story, while Yahoo News set a record for hourly visitors.
Barack Obama’s inauguration was indeed a big day for Web video. But it appears as if the Internet audience wasn’t nearly as big as the one that watched it on TV. The people who run MSNBC.com, CNN.com and Foxnews.com aren’t complaining, though–they all saw huge increases in traffic.
Was Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration a big day for Web video? Yes. Was it a record day? No one knows. That’s because Web video metrics, which are supposed to be much more precise than television’s, are still pretty raw.
There was only one force powerful enough to dampen the Internet’s hunger for all things Obama yesterday: Barack Obama himself.
Or, more precisely, his inauguration speech.
YouTube may have been the only big Web site that didn’t provide a live stream of Barack Obama’s inauguration. But its users are rectifying this as we speak: They’re currently uploading clips of the ceremony to the site at a staggering pace.
It will be nearly impossible to find a place that will not be showing Barack Obama’s inauguration ceremony live today. But: If for some reason you find yourself trapped in a room that doesn’t have a monitor but does have Wi-Fi access, and you have an iPhone, you may still be able to watch the events in real time.
Peter Kafka has been covering media and technology since 1997, when he joined the staff of Forbes magazine. Most recently, he has been the managing editor of the tech and media Web site, Silicon Alley Insider. Read more »
Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.
D is unlike any other executive conference. Since its debut in 2003, D has brought to life the energy and excitement of the digital revolution in an unscripted, upfront and unparalleled way. Read more »
Don't miss a post! Sign up for our Daily Email and get AllThingsD.com delivered each day.
Get columns, blogs and video from D and All Things Digital on your iPhone. Download now »
