The weight of Michael Jackson’s death caused Twitter to crash at 4:24 p.m. yesterday.
Renowned local blogger Raul Pacheco-Vega wasn’t surprised that the King of Pop occupied nine of the top 10 searches yesterday because people were looking for information from a credible source.
However, it’s not CNN getting hits. It’s people on Twitter turning to the people they follow.
“With the rights of citizen journalism everybody who witnesses something or has some degree of first hand information is legitimate,” said Pacheco-Vega who blogs and tweets as hummingbird604.
It’s becoming increasingly apparent that reports such as Jackson’s death no longer need to be confirmed before being broadcast, according to Pacheco-Vega.
“More and more people are actually believing in Twitter and who they follow on Twitter for information because they’re legitimate in that circle,” he said.
Tweets
@erinhochstein RIP MJ & Farrah
@kgrandia Wow, just heard Michael Jackson just died.
@wafflesgirls MICHAEL JACKSON WILL LIVE FOREVER <3
@hummingbird604 Ok, so it appears all reports are confirmed. Damn, this week has been rough. Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon and Michael Jackson. Plus everything
@buzzbishop @Devon1975: @buzzbishop The problem with this type of media, is not knowing which Tweets to believe...
@THE_REAL_SHAQ is it true about michael
@RobsonStreet Wow... Farrah and Michael Jackson... The entire 80's died today. Sad day in Hollywood.
@stevenbjohnson: Please let this not turn into our Princess Diana. I don't think I'll be able to take that.
