Social networking sites have played a major role in this catastrophe, linking members up with information, hotline numbers and the latest news stories. The sites have been an outlet for debate, condolences and prayer. Several groups on the sites have coordinated a "day of remembrance," encouraging students all over the country to wear VT's school colors of maroon and orange on Friday.

The most active social network has been Facebook. Over 500 groups have been created as a tribute to the tragedy. The largest group, "A Tribute to Those Who Passed at the Virginia Tech Shooting," has over 240,000 members. It hosts links to YouTube videos, the latest news articles and over 1,800 images that students can post as their profile picture. There are over 900 discussion threads being updated by the second.

All over the nation and all over the Web people are expressing their grief. Virginia Tech's MySpace profile has received over 2,800 comments. Over 500 videos have been posted to YouTube, including shots of TV news, commentary, songs and even animations. The site has also become the setting for an impromptu debate about gun control laws.

The use of social networking sites in this tragedy show how the use of technology has changed even since the attacks of September 11, 2001. Then, many people used e-mail to reach out to family and try to learn about the situation in New York City . "Now, e-mail is still a valid form of communication, but for younger people it's not nearly as popular as a lot of other apps like [instant messaging] and posting and blogging and community related sites," said Danielle Levitas, an analyst at IDC.

Technology Becomes Coping Mechanism

Students Turn to Social Networking Sites For Info

"If You're OK Please Update Your Profile"

A Tribute to Those who Passed at The Virginia Tech Shooting