Digitalia | Indianapolis Social Media Marketing

Michael Jackson Tribute "Eternal moonwalk" has global participation

MJ Fans upload moonwalking videos

I saw Pete Cashmore's tweet and followed the link. Transfixed I watched videos of people on this site moonwalk in one direction almost seamlessly for hundreds of meters. So what's the story - Studio Brussel aka Stu Bru, a Belgian readi station has created this website called the "Eternal Moonwalk". Fans from all across the globe - of all ages, both genders, a variety of age groups - have filmed themselves and uploaded videos of themselves (in some cases animations - home made, videos from Second Life, and more - all in honor of the "the king of Pop". To keep the flow, all videos are in the same direction and hands and feet are visible. All kinds of moonwalkers you have to see it to believe it. You'd think that the fact that people have plan something, execute it, shoot video and upload it would be a barrier to entry - but obvioulsy not!

Note: 697 m of moonwalking at the time of this screenshot!!

My friend Mark Juleen has been saying this for months - "social media ain't new" - whether its websites or email or itunes - its been around for a while. This site is about shared values - a love for Michael Jackson's dancing. I can remember being 15 years old - wearing a glove, white socks and jacket and shades - and moonwalking at a party on Woodland Terrace with my pals from La Martiniere for Boys.

As Pete says and I paraphrase - come on baby - ain't you gonna moonwalk for the whole world to see! BTW there are some MJ remixes on my profile at Blip.fm

Duncan Alney Facebook | Twitter | Naymz | Blip.fm

Celebrities Escape Death via Twitter…sort of

Don’t let the hackers have their way. Research before you retweet. 

Celebrity deaths have been the lead story on every news outlet lately. First Ed McMahon last Tuesday (July 25), then Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson Thursday of the same week (June 25). Sunday (June 28) it was announced that Billy Mays, popular infomercial personality, passed away in his Florida home unexpectedly. 

Many people, including myself, found out about these deaths from a social media site, rather than through TV or a newspaper. In the hours before and after the announcement of MJ”s death, 30 percent of the total activity on Twitter consisted of tweets about the King of Pop. His name shot to the top of the Trending Topics on the Twitter interface and remains there as I write this blog.

Amidst all the mayhem of the shocking surplus of deaths, Tweets announcing the deaths of Harrison Ford, Jeff Goldblum, Britney Spears, Ellen DeGeneres and Natalie Portman (just to name a few) appeared on Twitter Feeds across the world.

It’s unimaginable that so many celebrity deaths could occur in such a short time, right? Definitely.

Ford, Goldblum and Portman were all reported to have fallen off a cliff while filming a movie, plummeting to their deaths. It must be the fickle finger of fate that caused all three actors met their maker in the same manner. Actually, it’s anything but fate — it’s FakeAWish. This site creates fake news stories about celebrity deaths based on user suggestions. The story format resembles those of Yahoo, which is to blame for most of the confusion.

For Spears and DeGeneres, Twitter hackers are to blame. Both accounts tweeted announcements of the stars’ deaths, unbeknownst to the celebrities/handlers themselves who run the accounts. Spears’ account even ran a special tweet denouncing the rumor, confidently stating Britney is “fine and dandy spending a quiet day at home relaxing.”

A quick Google search could prove any of these obits false, but how many people take the time when so many legitimate deaths are occurring? Does all the noise mask social media sensibility?

Don’t let the hackers have their way. Research before you retweet. 

Alyson (@alyandthecity on Twitter)