Facinating video of NY Times Web traffic

Nick Bilton, the N.Y. Times' technology blogger at Bits, has shared a fascinating set of videos showing traffic to the Times' Web site on the day of Michael Jackson's death.

There is the usual stuff - the ebb and flow as the day begins. And then there is the big spike shortly after 5 p.m. when word of Jackson's death surfaced (reinforcing the idea that online is more and more where people are turning for that instant info hit - the role TV used to play).

But also fascinating to me is the relative constancy of mobile throughout the day. As Bilton notes in the comments section, some of this may be an artifact of how the cell phone system tends to concentrate outgoing traffic. But still, something to think about -- as the rest of the traffic ebbs and flows, at times mobile becomes a very significant proportion.

I don't know how much of this is applicable to your local Daily Tattler's online traffic. But it would not surprise me if it portends what news orgs will be seeing more of. And I'm still not convinced that the vast majority of publishers and editors understands mobile and its impact on form, function and workflows (and, potentially, revenues).

This is one of two videos on Bilton's blog post. He also has an international one.

The New York Times site traffic, US, June 25, 2009 from Nick Bilton on Vimeo.