The tragic death of Michael Jackson even impacts Internet speed.

Whilst many people may feel one way or another about Michael Jackson, there is no debating the world-wide phenomenon that was his life. And now in death, it seems his effect is even more powerful.

As the news about Jackson’s death began to circulate, the Internet became a focal point for people everywhere trying to verify the story, find out more facts, and pass the information on to friends and family across the world.

The vast increase in traffic caused many sites to feel the strain, with Google producing error pages on related searches, and Twitter crashing for only the second recorded time. In fact, the search for more information on Michael Jackson became so feverish, that Google rated the topic as “volcanic” on their hotness meter, even considering the sudden influx as a possible attack, and BBC News received 72% more traffic around the time of his death, along with many other sites.

The fact that the Internet can be rocked by such real, physical events is somewhat reassuring – we haven’t yet reached the stage where computers, cold and unfeeling, can report the news dispassionately, without a thought for its effects on those more “fleshly”. At least not yet, and I for one think that’s a good thing.