Unless you are living under a rock, it is impossible to go even a few hours without coming across a #this or #that message. “Following” a person or beings “friends” with a person has taken on an entirely different meaning and Twitter, Facebook and other social media has become part of the daily lives of such a mass amount of people around the world. Increasingly, social media has also evolved into a major news outlet for users to gather and release information. For those of us who know anyone living anywhere from Washington, DC to New York City probably witnessed so many family, friends or “friends” taking to Facebook and Twitter after last month’s earthquake shook homes and offices. The earthquake, though very unexpected, was a minor event, and makes me wonder if we would still use social media as a main source of information if things were more serious?
Irene Tien, or @Irene, went from 630 followers to 11,500 during Hurricane Irene. When her superiors got wind of her increasing number of followers, Irene relinquished control of her account and allowed for @Irene to become the twitter account for the other Irene, who was about to wreak havoc on the Northeast, where many people were experiencing their first ever hurricane. Further, @Irene was even made available to FEMA to enable the organization to disseminate vital information. @Irene had turned virtually overnight from a personal Twitter account to a major information source for those in Hurricane Irene’s path.
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