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Understanding
Search Engine Optimisation by Peter
Yexley
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What has Google learned from Michael Jackson's death?
Probably for the
first time so many people have learned a new word in their
Google vocabulary ... 'spike'.
As news of Michael Jackson's sudden death last Thursday spread
faster than wild fire, people anxious to find the truth did
what we seem to do naturally, search the 'net'. This worldwide
activity generated traffic spikes with search engines so enormous
that Google suffered a temporary crash.
If you were using Google at that time, you might have witnessed
a "we're Sorry..." page. The actual news page was
inaccessible because Google interpreted the vast number of
search queries as attack on its platform.
Google's Director of Product Management posted the following
online.
"The spike in searches related to Michael Jackson was
so big that Google News initially mistook it for an automated
attack. As a result, for about 25 minutes yesterday, when
some people searched Google News they saw a 'We're sorry'
page before finding the articles they were looking for."
By the very nature of the incident, people were out and about
doing what they do in their normal lives. Google reported
an unprecedented number of mobile searches, and the vast majority
related to Michael Jackson's death. Yahoo hit 800,000 hits
within 10 minutes.
As much as we can ask what Google has learned about its own
system and the caution it set in place during the 'spike',
it is fair to say that it was caught by surprise, and quite
rightly so, but online security experts are extremely busy
on damage limiting exercises as a result of malware attacks
and spam campaigns.
In the event
of another important event resulting in an abnormal number
of searches, will Google know the difference between a genuine
SPIKE and an attack on its platform?
It isn't
just Michael Jackson's death that has been reported on the
interne: Britney Spears is alive and well despite reports
of her death. Rick Astley, Miley Cyrus, Harrison Ford, Ellen
DeGeneres, Jeff Goldblum are just among a growing list of
the rich and famous who have had false death reports published
about them online in the days following the passing of high-profile
celebrities such as Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett-Majors..
Copyright 2009 Peter
Yexley. All rights reserved.Online
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