Web Beats TV to Jackson Fatigue

(NEWSER) - The surge in Internet traffic yesterday as Michael Jackson fans searched for information about his death had a deep impact on the Web, Ars Technica reports. Sites as diverse as Twitter and the iTunes Store slowed to a crawl, but perhaps the most profound effect was on Google. The search engine interpreted the high volume as a cyberattack and went into so-called “self-protection mode.” More»

Twitter tries and fails to take down another celebrity

(NEWSER) - Bill Cosby is not dead, despite what you might have read on the Internet this afternoon. In fact, the 73-year-old comedy legend is alive, well, and making up words on Twitter, reports WPIX . Using a term he created after a similar false alarm in February, he tweeted today, "Again, I'm rebutalling rumors about my demise." He added , "Emotional friends have called about this misinformation. To the people behind the foolishness, I’m not sure you see how upsetting this is." To learn more about things the web has actually killed, click here . More»

Son's lucrative exploitation also includes book deal

(NEWSER) - Move over, Al Bundy: A project based @shitmydadsays, the Twitter feed engineered by the son of a cantankerous father, has been picked up by CBS. The creators of Will and Grace are on board as executive producers, with that selfsame transcriber of a son taking writing duties. The microblog’s title will change once on-air, the Hollywood Reporter adds, helpfully. More»

(NEWSER) - Sacha Baron Cohen has partnered up with MySpace to promote his new film, Bruno, in a move that could help revive the struggling social networking site, Advertising Age reports. MySpace is hosting a movie site for the gay Austrian fashionista—MeinSpace—and the parent site has started running an unrestricted trailer. Cohen was convinced to strike the deal because Bruno could plausibly be into MySpace. More»

(NEWSER) - Ashton Kutcher came through on his promise to punk CNN and founder Ted Turner last night after beating the network in the race to 1 million Twitter followers, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The actor had promised to “ding-dong-ditch” Turner, and the execution went something like this: Assemble fans, a truckload of Ding Dong snack cakes, and a big bell outside Turner’s home. Ring bell. But wait, there’s more. More»