Michael Jackson’s collapse on June 25, 2009 at his rented mansion at 100 North Carolwood Drive in the Holmby Hills, Los Angeles proved to be the brightest day for Cyberspace. No wonder, the world has embraced the last moments of this legendary singer, lyricist, dancer, author, and above all, an  entertainer, in the same way they did years back to his music albums- “Thriller”, “Off the Wall”, “Bad”, “Dangerous”, and “HIStory”. Not to forget, his live concerts made the audiences go mad!!!

The news of Jackson’s death created such a stir in the digital world that it led to a severe cyberspace traffic jam on June 25 and June 26. Truth to be told, Michael Jackson’s death was among the most high-interest events in the digital age. The largest wave of traffic erupted about 6 p.m. ET, soon after the celebrity-gossip site TMZ.com reported that Jackson was dead. Soon search terms like “Michael Jackson died,” “Michael Jackson cardiac arrest,” “Michael Jackson death hoax”, and the like thronged search engines- Google, Yahoo, MSN, accounting for almost 50% of the top 100 most searched queries.

It was not merely the search engines, but also the social media sites that witnessed a gigantic spur in their traffic soon after Jackson’s death was confirmed. The fans from different corners of the world posted their last tribute to the legend. They discussed his glorious years as a performer, his tough days of trial, his days of financial slowdown, and above all, his contribution to music and entertainment. While as his true fan, some preferred to participate in vigils held on his honor, others used social media sites to share their thoughts. YouTube, a top destination for user-generated video, received thousands of new fan clips about Jackson, including “video blogs” and tribute dances. More than 16% of Twitter posts on 25th June revolved around the controversial, legendary star.

25th June was truly the brightest day in cyberspace history, marking an event certainly bigger than President Obama’s inauguration or Swine Flu. While the cyberspace rejoiced, true Michael Jackson fans mourned.