...As word spread around the globe, search terms ran the gamut: Phrases including "Michael Jackson cardiac arrest," and "Michael Jackson death hoax" accounted for more than half of Google's top 100 most-searched phrases on Thursday, a trend the company said was unusual.

But Google was not alone. Facebook, YouTube and other social media sites saw a remarkable increase in traffic and new content in the hours after Jackson's death was confirmed. And while news organizations say they saw bumps in website traffic since Thursday, the popularity of social media sites, observers say, is part of a growing trend — people increasingly get their news and analysis online from friends.

"People have really taken to the idea that they're not just passive consumers of news anymore," says Aaron Smith, a researcher with the Pew Internet & American Life Project. "They're 'nodes' in the news environments themselves, and can now contribute their own thoughts on what the issue of the day is."