News of Steve Irwin's Death Creates Record Traffic

As the news of Steve Irwin's rumoured death in Australia filtered through today, an alamingly high amount of search enquiries followed.

News sites reported hits so great that many of them had to revert to low bandwith. Ninemsn.com.au, a joint partnership between PBL and MSN, are claiming to have received over 1,000,000 hits ("5 times usual traffic") that nearly "...crashed their server". Steve's website http://www.crocodilehunter.com/ could not cope with the traffic and was taken off air.

My own site Australian Death Notices, Funeral Notices and Obituaries received record levels of traffic (i.e. the most traffic it has ever received in it's 7 month history). I had heard of the news, yet the demand caught me off-guard.

The Google Adword daily budget for the word "death" was used up virtually within the hour. An unprecedented amout of Australians looked to the www.Obits.com.au site to find this immediate news.

It's often tough having to type a death notice, even after 7 months. We often get teary in the office, particularly with notices for babies and young people.

Steve Irwin's death, however, left a kind of numbness. This man seemed invincible. This was someone we felt we "knew". As his manager, and close friend, John Staiton referred to was the adage, "what you saw was what you got", and consequently we all felt we "knew" him.

Undoubtedly we didn't. Perhaps the essence of the man and what he was passionate about. Steve was so full of energy and so vital and my heart goes out to Terri, Bindi and Bob, as with any family who has lost a loved one, with the void that would inevitably be created. No doubt the comparatively small amount of sorrow & disbelief we, as a nation, feel could be nothing compared to their grief.

There is also talk of Steve Irwin being offered a State Funeral - given his status and popularity in Australia, I see this as a firm possiblilty.