December 01, 2008
Tweeting Terror: Mumbai Terrorist Attacks Reported Via Social Media Sites
The devastating terrorist attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai last Thursday were widely reported online by citizen journalists who used various social media outlets to provide real-time accounts of the tragedy.
On Thursday, November 26, 2008, social media sites including Twitter, Flickr, Wikipedia and various personal blogs reported simultaneous online coverage and provided a place for aggregated news reports on the historic terrorist attack that killed over 100 people and wounded nearly 300.
Yahoo Inc.'s photo Web site, Flickr played a prominent role in displaying captivating images and early reporting on the attacks. One Flickr user captured workers putting out the fire that had engulfed the 105 year old roof of the Taj Mahal Tower and Hotel. Google map has an aerial view of where the attacks were made and Wikipedia has a detailed synopsis of the Mumbai terrorist attack.
The use of mobile technology and cell phones is more prevalent in India and China than it is in the US, reports the Wall Street Journal, with videos and photographs from cell phones transmitted to news networks. One hotel employee recalled, “We started getting text messages on our cell phones from senior hotel managers warning us to stay down or that gunmen were on the fifth floor…”
The NYTimes reports, “At the peak of the violence, more than one message per second with the word “Mumbai” in it was being posted onto Twitter.” Geotweets show tweets made within a 15 mile radius of the city of Mumbai.
One of the major complaints among those who disagree with Twitter and other social media tools being news outlets is the quick dissemination of rumors and inaccuracies, but the good seems to be outweighing the bad; Twitter and Indian blogs relayed information regarding missing family members and hospitals in desperate need of blood.
Many with family and friends in the city of Mumbai relied on Twitter and blogs to relay information. CNN reports a harrowing story of one blogger in Mumbai who published his mobile number and email address and has already helped one frantic man find his father who was staying in Mumbai.
While traditional media channels had to rely on bureaucratic means of gaining coverage, through Indian networks or live coverage that were eventually shut down on Friday by request of the Indian government, citizen journalists were able to use mobile technology to provide early reporting and ease the spread of terror in Mumbai.
Posted by Buzz Webster at December 1, 2008 04:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)