Social Media Absolves Michael Jackson’s Controversial Life
Positive Online Popularity Grows for the King of Pop by 3000%
Singer-Songwriter, choreographer, producer, businessman and philanthropist, Michael Jackson was undoubtedly the “King of Pop”, with the height of his popularity spanning over 3 generations, and through social media, a fourth generation is now re-discovering this now resting entertainment giant.
Jackson’s mega-stardom that began from childhood was over shadowed by decades of mounting controversy that started in the 1980s. His flamboyant lifestyle, radical changes in physical appearance, allegations of sexual misconduct, questionable mental state, drug abuse, and deteriorating financial condition pushed Jackson into a self-imposed seclusion from the media.
From June 25th to July 11th 2009, upon the announcement Jackson’s death, a virtual “perfect storm” of social media may have forever changed the perception, attitude, and behavior of the masses. Within 48 hours of his death, social media proliferation through blogs, videos, friend feeds, online mainstream news, and discussion forums increased over its daily average by 3,000%, with a majority of the following from 16-26 years of age, according to John Cataldi, CEO of Adreka Advertising. On the day of his memorial service, global web traffic spiked 19% above normal usage, as reported by Akamai, with 30% of all social media postings on popular social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Friend Feeds contained keywords, “Michael Jackson”. Through social mobilization, flash mobs take to the streets in Stockholm, 300+ strong, dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”, with other cities expected to follow this viral dance party worldwide, according to Bounce.NU. To date, there are over 80 million social postings with mention of Michael Jackson, in which an estimated 20% are newly created entries in relation to Jackson’s passing.
According to Adreka’s social media analysis, the impact of social media in relation to the public perception of Michael Jackson’s life, increased in positive sentiment, with most negative aspects of past controversy showing up less than 20% in general search, and 12% in comments left in from friend feeds to forums. In parallel, upon monitoring social media’s affect on e-commerce, iTunes is reporting that 19 out of 100 top songs, and 13 out of top 100 albums download is Michael Jackson. Additionally, popular shopping engines, such as eBay, Amazon, and Craigslist, shows that Michael Jackson albums, books, and collectibles are seeing a dramatic increase, upwards of 115% due to the influential social media postings.
In the words of Michael, “While some have made deliberate attempts to hurt me, I take it in stride because I have a loving family, a strong faith and wonderful friends and fans who have, and continue, to support me.” Yet, seemly overnight, from the news of his death, an emotional outcry shown by MJ Fans and propagated by social networks, has possibly given this mega-entertainer what he could not achieve in life – absolution. Absolution from media criticism, rumors, innuendos, and financial troubles. Moreover, in his death, though tragic, has spawned a rebirth of the mega-star’s music, popularity, and reputation for generations to come.
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