By Elizabeth Chuck, msnbc.com

Heads up: Your Twitter timeline might be a bit overwhelming today.

Last night, traffic on the site spiked to more than 4,000 tweets per second during President Obama’s speech announcing the death of Osama bin Laden, according to Twitter’s official PR account. “9/11 widow on my flight. In tears. Comforted by entire cabin. Life altering event to see,” read one of those tweets. Meanwhile, on the ground, there were Twitpics of passengers in the baggage claim area of JFK glued to the TV while Obama spoke and FDNY firefighters celebrating in Times Square; word being spread of spontaneous gatherings all over the country; and – of course – Photoshopped tributes to mark the occasion (please refer to this image of of Lady Liberty gripping bin Laden’s severed head and this one of Obama riding a unicorn while rainbows emanate from his hands).

But Obama isn’t the only one getting credit. “Let's all take this time to thank the one person who no doubt was behind the killing of Osama bin Laden: Jack Bauer,” tweeted one person. The fictional “24” hero quickly rose to a trending topic on Twitter. Other accolades included “Nice job with the whole Osama thing” and one woman first professing her love to Mr. Bauer, followed by “We couldn’t have done it without” him.

Uh… Kidding, right? We’ll just assume she’s taking that joke really far.

The celebration extended beyond bin Laden’s death: “Well, at least this’ll put an end to f’in Royal Wedding talk,” said one person. “A prince gets married, the bad guy is dead. It’s a real Disney weekend here on earth,” posted another. 

Then there’s the man who lives in the Pakistani town where Osama was killed who accidentally tweeted the news after hearing a loud bang: “Uh oh, now I’m the guy who liveblogged the Osama raid without knowing it,” @ReallyVirtual later tweeted. Hours  - and apparently multiple media inquiries – later, he tweeted, “Bin Laden is dead. I didn’t kill him. Please let me sleep now.”

And what live event would be complete without a little snark? Viewers and readers everywhere were more than happy to point out which news organizations confused "Osama" and "Obama" in their headlines - and which sites just made typos, period (Fox News "Confriming that Usama Bin Landen" is dead still gets the message across, don't you agree?).

For a timeline of how it all unfolded on Twitter, click here.

For moments when you need the Internet equivalent of a pinch to make sure you're not dreaming, click on IsOsamaBinLadenDead.com.

Editor's note: Msnbc.com is following the online reaction to President Barack Obama's announcement that Osama bin Laden is dead.

Update: 2:00 a.m. ET

Second Life gets in the game as participants dance to "The Angry American." (image below, from Alexandrea Ryada via FirstPerson)

According to NBC's Luke Russert, Twitter user @ReallyVirtual accidentally live tweeted the activity that led to the 9/11 mastermind's death without knowing what was going on. The newsman writes, "Read back 9 hours to see his description of hearing the chopper of 1am. Amazing stuff." 

@GhostOsama introduced himself to the world with a groan: "Well this sucks...I accidentally enabled location on my tweets."

1:30 a.m. ET

Reaction to the president's statement (click here to watch it in full) erupted on the Internet within moments.

"Bin Laden dead. My dad died on 911. I feel free," tweeted one woman.

Others, including filmmaker Michael Moore, used Twitter to ask for a moment of silence in honor of the victims of Sept. 11.

On Facebook, users changed their profile pictures. "Change your profile picture to an American flag in honor and recognition of our soldiers who took down Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan! Finally the great terrorist mastermind is dead. God bless the USA," said one user.

Twitter account @osamainhell announced itself to the world with a cheeky "Wait, what?" while @Real_Bin_Laden moaned that he was "watching footage of people partying in NYC," and that "If I didn't know better, I'd think you guys really didn't like me..."

Jack Bauer -  the face of Fox's "24" - began trending on Twitter in the hours after the president's speech. "Right now @BarackObama is telling Jack Bauer he will never be able to thank him enough but sadly he must now leave the Country," tweeted one user. 

Google Maps wasn't immune to the reaction: The mastermind's mansion hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan, about 80 miles north of Islamabad, was mapped within hours. According to the Atlantic's Nicholas Jackson, the site is "about 800 feet to the west is the Cantt Police Station." Foursquare users don't worry: If you're ever in the neighborhood, you can now check in via the location service. 

Some - likely still riding high from the correspondent's dinner - took to the the vast spaces of the Internet - for a victory lap of sorts (image below, h/t http://mikerelm.tumblr.com/post/5124100463).

http://mikerelm.tumblr.com/post/5124100463

Many noticed the eerie date of the announcement: May1 is also the day Germany announced Hitler's death.