http://digitallife.today.com/_news/2011/05/02/6571255-bin-ladens-death-unites-internet-town-square
I came across this article and thought it was pretty funny. First, as an avid internet user, I've already seen the Facebook statuses - sometimes comical, sometimes solemn. I've seen the funny images showing Obama saying things like "Sorry it took so long to get you a copy of my birth certificate - I was too busy killing Osama bin Laden." Though I don't use Twitter, I can imagine the things being posted there.
In today's day and age, it has become normal for breaking news to not break in news articles or press conferences, but rather on sites like Twitter and Facebook. It's interesting to contemplate if the government could even beat the internet in releasing news...I don't think so.
The article discusses the "internet town square" that was united in the United States around Osama bin Laden's death. From Twitter and Facebook to thousands of personal blogs and even Miley Cyris' music video for "Party in the USA," people all over discussed the death of bin Laden, often joking about it and linking it to other pressing issues of today. The sheer speed at which news spreads online is truly mind-boggling. I don't believe that there was ever a time when information moved as fast as it does today. Pictures are posted and reblogged or tweeted repeatedly exponentially in manner of milliseconds. The fact that the Internet has taken on a role as a sort of "town square" gathering place for all kinds of people is also really intriguing. Sure, it's not really a surprise that it has become that, but with statistics like the 4.1 million page views to news sites around 11:30pm, it's still puts things in perspective - awe-inspiring perspective, that is.
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