Prince of Pop Ruled ‘net in late ’09

Analysts are reviewing domain name sales and web traffic activity through 2009 and realizing a stunning result: the unexpected death of Michael Jackson, termed the “King” or the Prince of Pop, garnered unlimited SEO traffic and related merchandise site purchases.

Google News posits that Jackson outlisted Britney Spears in search request. But the death of Jackson prompted more than searches. The collectibles market in Jackson memorabilia skyrocketed. Online Itunes and other venues units flowed. These media buys include music and video, which Jackson pioneered in dance form.

YouTube, in the days following the announcement, strained at the limits to service requests for videos like Jackson’s hits ‘Thriller” and Billie Jean”. Any online marketer with a vintage Michael Jackson video streaming on Youtube got a ton of hits to their channel, and the links in their information bar.

Jackson’s name in related domain name turnover accounted for a sizeable slice of Q4 domain revenue. Jackson funeral and death information SE requests traffic came so thick and fast that any “squatter” name was bound to realize revenue even before the formidable Jackson estate might pursue legal matters. This unusual profit taking shored up a wobbly 2009 domain market to close it strong.

Michael Jackson com @ $12 Million US

The amount of Michael Jackson memorabilia for sale on eBay increased nearly 10,000 percent the morning after the pop star’s death from a possible heart attack. Michael Jackson coverage still is featured on every newspaper front page around the world.

And with that surge, the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland is cautioning buyers about purchasing fake merchandise. Opportunism knows no bounds. The increase in memorabilia makes buyers more susceptible to price inflation, counterfeits and internet scams that can threaten sensitive information, officials said.

“Following the death of Princess Diana, the market was flooded with mass-produced items commemorating her death, including special edition Beanie Babies that at one time sold for more than $100 but are now on garage sale tables for a buck,” said Angie Barnett, CEO of the Better Business Bureau.

Sellers listed an average of 200 to 400 Michael Jackson memorabilia items daily on eBay, but the number spiked to 20,000 after his death, according to Smartmoney.com, a web site that covers Wall Street. Currently the demand and trade speed diminishes the capacity of the BBB to keep up.

Michael Jackson sold 750 million albums during his four-decade music career, according to the recording industry publication Billboard Magazine. Jackson’s “Thriller” album is one of the top-selling albums of all time, with 40 million copies sold around the world.

Michael Jackson memorabilia is selling for anywhere from $21 million — for the michaeljackson.com Internet domain name — to $1.79 for a Michael Jackson collectable vinyl window sticker.

Michael Jackson Death nearly crashes Web

A major force in popular culture, contemporary music, visual media, and modern dance has died and the world is the poorer for it. Michael Jackson at 50 has died entirely too soon to suit hundreds of millions of people on earth. But they all rushed to the internet to talk about it, proving once again that social networking operates as a universal benchmark of what people are cocnerned about.

Michael Jackson’s death Thursday afternoon has brought enough world emotional impact that individuals across the planet looking for more information and consolation crashed Twitter and the Michael Jackson’s Wikipedia entry. Emotion ran high and fans erected memorial sites. Facebook and Youtube participated in each other’s bandwidth helix of shutdown pain.

Michael Jackson Landgrab Begins

As news of the death of the fabled entertainer and pop icon Michael Jackson was still going out Thursday night, the domain name land rush for Michael Jackson inclusive  names had already started. Multiple drop list and just registered scanning revealed name buying and keyword registration for domain names of the King of Pop.

Among those names purchased were Michael Jackson shirts, a dotmobi, and others. Legacy fansites in the making will probably be sprouting up all over the internet in the next couple of days.