It’s been a watershed week, at least in the celebrity world. The deaths of late night sidekick Ed McMahon, Charlie’s Angel Farrah Fawcett, and, to a lesser extent, infomercial mainstay Billy Mays, have fueled the tabloid-esque fire to find out every minute detail of their passing and aftermath, from autopsy results to funeral arrangements to 911 transcripts.

But of course, the death of Michael Jackson, the anointed King of Pop, took precedence. Those of a certain generation recall dancing to Thriller, Jackson’s 1982 album (which remains one of the best-selling albums of all time)  but can just as easily recall the jokes about his ever-lightening skin colour, repeated plastic surgeries, and child abuse allegations. We knew too much about him, yet so little of his motivations, that his life and death will continue to be sources of fascination for years to come.

Jackson’s death, as unfortunate and early as it was, was perfectly timed for the generation that adored, and then abhorred, him. Response to his death last Thursday afternoon caused the Twitter website to crash for a short time.

Twitter is the Internet’s latest phenomenon; people can sign up for an account, and then post an update about whatever they’re doing – provided it is less than 140 characters long. It’s as ephemeral and shallow as it sounds; perfect for a generation raised on pop culture and MTV.

And, yet, as with many popular crazes (such as the Moonwalk, Michael Jackson’s signature dance move), people are giving it a try. Few, however, are sticking to it (again, similar to the Moonwalk). It’s been widely circulated that 70 per cent of those who sign on to Twitter let their accounts lapse within a month.

As simple as it sounds, Twitter is a stressful activity; few of us, save narcissists (did you know you can follow many of your favourite celebrities’ Twitter reports?), consider themselves interesting enough to regularly update others on what we’re up to, especially when you add other digital activities such as text messaging, Facebook, blogging and MySpace into the mix.

Concurrent to this pop parade, however, is the uprising over the supposed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran. In a country where popular media has been subject to a black-out, and State-run television providing State-produced information, the Internet has provided a window on a nation in flux. It is the only way the outside world is getting any kind of information about the uprising, and subsequent military response.

It is also the means by which the world was exposed to the painfully short plight of Neda, a young Iranian woman whose death at the hands of the Iranian military was filmed, likely on a cellphone, and then posted on  YouTube, for the whole world to witness (just type Neda, Iran, and video into any search engine to see it).

Perhaps the true potency of the Internet lies not in its seeming wealth of information, but rather in its ability to shine light on the darkest moments of our existence.

–A.M.