Jackson Memorial Poised as the Biggest Online Event

For those who weren’t lucky enough to snag a pair of tickets to pop star Michael Jackson’s memorial service in Los Angeles today, the Internet is here to help. A number of Web sites are offering live streaming of the star-studded event.

 

The memorial service, which was slated to begin at 1 p.m. Eastern today, from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, is expected to be the biggest event in Internet history. Singers including Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, and Lionel Ritchie, among others, are slated to perform in the service, which will commemorate the 50-year-old’s historic career.

 

As media companies plan to cover the service with live broadcasts on television and online streaming, some analysts are predicting that the explosion of worldwide interest in Jackson’s death will lead to a surge in Internet use, and may even crash some servers, according to the Times Online.

 

“It could just be the biggest thing ever in the history of the internet,” Adam Ostrow, editor-in-chief of the San Francisco-based Mashable online social media guide, told The Times. “The memorial service is happening during normal hours in the U.S. when people will be at work, which means people aren’t going to be in front of a TV, they are going to be at their computers and turning to the Internet to watch the event.”

 

Facebook (News - Alert) users can watch streaming video of the memorial through an alliance with CNN Live. Members can also share their Jackson memories with others around the world.  MySpace (News - Alert) members can watch video footage under a similar deal with entertainment group AEG. Streaming video of the memorial at was also available CNN Live, ABC, and E! Online Web sites.

 

About 1.6 million people applied to win 8,750 pairs of free tickets for the public memorial allocated via an online lottery, The Times reported. Millions more are expected to watch the broadcast around the world.

 

Already, the Internet has played a key role in coverage of the singer’s death. As the news that the “King of Pop” died of a heart attack swept the world last month, the topic dominated Web sites and blogs. As TMCnet reported, the sudden uptick in communications through the Web caused a major network strain.

 

And since the death of the pop star nearly two weeks ago, music fans have been storming social networking sites, such as Facebook, and MySpace with memories and tributes. For example, members can become fans of a R.I.P Michael Jackson page, which has more than 3.8 million fans. On MySpace, fans could watch video footage from a memorial page on Jackson.

 

So, while many fans worldwide will remember Jackson and bid the superstar a somber farewell, Internet service providers will be keeping a watching eye on the traffic with hopes that there will be no server failures.

 

Ben Parr, an associate editor at the social media blog Mashable told ABCNews that today's memorial could surpass the Internet activity during President Obama inauguration.

 

"Records will be set,” Parr said.