Just came across this post on ReadWriteWeb that references a study that will appear in New Scientist Magazine that has found that things like blogs, instant messaging and social media sites are better than traditional media in times of emergency because they connect people and provide warnings in real-time.
It’s a really great post and definitely worth reading. I love that they’ve used real examples of how all of these sites and tools have really been useful recently. They’ve also shown the real value of using these things in emergency situations.
I wonder.. with the proliferation of blogs, twitterers and people using these tools, if at some point “traditional” media will disappear. It seems, at least for myself, that more and more I’m tired of the ‘drama’ that old-school media brings to the table and I just want to get the quick, honest assessment from a ‘real’ person on the front lines.
2 responses so far ↓
Jeff Swain // May 1, 2008 at 6:59 pm |
Thanks for sharing this. Weinberger (in Small Pieces…) talks about 9/11 and how non-traditional media was more agile and reliable with covering what was happening.
micala // May 2, 2008 at 12:10 pm |
Jeff,
Thanks again for your comments and I think you’re right. We had friends living in Brooklyn at the time and were on IRC with them when it happened. It made the whole 9/11 experience completely different for us to hear what was going on from someone living so close to it.