1. Mourning Through Social Media

    by @pppaige1

    In July of 2009, news of Michael Jackson dying spread like wildfire. MJ was an iconic pop star from the moment The Jackson 5 started up in the 1960’s. Though grieving happens when every celebrity passes, it seemed like when the King of Pop passed away, the world sat in complete silence and disbelief. 

    The time of his death was approximately 2:26pm and the controversial gossip site TMZ.com had announced his death at 2:44pm (Guardian.co.uk).

    4.2 million global visitors per minute visited online news sites and social media sites to confirm this information (Social Media Boomer). Something that would take days to completely spread several decades ago, was instantly out for the world to consume. I know I found out that Michael Jackson died through social media as did all of my friends.

    According to the NY Daily News, more than 31 million people watched his memorial service on television and millions more watched on computers from various locations. 18 different networks carried live coverage of his memorial service.

    This was the perfect example of the beginning of the social media boom. As of last week, we can compare this celebrity tragedy with the story of Whitney Houston’s death. Just last week, a day before the Grammys, pop icon Houston passed away in her hotel bathtub.

    Again, I had found this information out through social media. It’s interesting to compare the impact that social media had on the spreading of MJ’s death versus the spreading of Houston’s death. This time around, the news sped up noticeably. Social media sites have gained so many more users in the three years between these tragedies. As its popularity grows, more people turn to its convenient and straight forward manner. Within minutes, it was a topic that literally everybody I knew was talking about.

    It’s also interesting to watch the grieving process of fans around the world. Social media makes celebrities seem easy to relate to personally. Not only do these sites make these celebrities seem personable, but they also give the user the power to let their grief or opinion be heard. The collective response to Houston’s death from everyone around the world has made this tragedy harder to swallow.

    Another aspect of impact that social media can have on these tragedies is the amount of traffic that they attract to the artists’ sites. Immediately after Houston’s death, sales for Whitney’s greatest hits went skyrocketing. Michael Jackson went from having 800,000 fans on Facebook to having 8 million fans according to Social Media Boomer. Despite the inappropriate timing, I’m sure marketers are thrilled that they have these fans to market to in the future.

    As a marketing student, it’s hard to watch these events happen and not notice the roll that social media takes in each of the steps of these tragedies. In 20 years when we’re all parents, it’s impossible to know what to expect. What will come next and how will it change the way we receive and digest news and information? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

    Sources:

    http://thesocialmediaboomer.com/social-media/social-media-is-changing-our-world

    http://yourlife.usatoday.com/mind-soul/story/2012-02-18/Mourning-Whitney-Social-media-magnify-the-grief-process/53136210/1

    http://articles.nydailynews.com/2009-07-08/entertainment/17929013_1_jackson-service-inauguration-day-memorial-service

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