“All circuits are busy” is the sound most people in the Tri-State area were hearing on the other line on September 11, 2001. We were all calling our family and friends who worked and lived in the city. We were in a state of panic and disconnect. No one was getting through to anyone, and no one was getting answers.
If the Blackberry were as prevalent as it is now – or if the iPhone had been born yet – GPS and internet access would have made this day a lot easier for so many people.
Imagine if we had been able to get a constant news feed of this event to our cell phones or computer desk tops from various associations; whether it be news stations, government officials, or NY volunteers.
If Facebook existed, you would instantly know who around you was directly affected by the event, making things very public. Had Flicker been active, thousands and thousands of tragic pictures would constantly be flooding the web.
Below is a list of how social media would have changed that day, on a media stand point:
(List and Photo Courtesy of LA Times Blog)
1. Video, pics, and text from inside the World Trade Center towers
We would be faced with a avalanche of videos/tweets/pics from office workers still trying to figure out what was going on. As reader Jim Alden puts it, "#9-11 would have been a trending topic for 12 months." Eight years ago people didn't go around carrying a video camera in their pocket, much less an iPhone.
2. Video from inside the planes
Passengers on United 93 used their cell phones to call their friends and family. In 2009, Virgin America has Wi-Fi. We would very likely get video clips from iPhoners on board, maybe even a live video stream.
3. More myths, but quicker myth-busting
Just like the "Jeff Goldblum is dead" tweets on the day Michael Jackson died, with big news comes fake news. But compared to the persistent rumors that the Pentagon was hit by a missile, or that Flight 93 was tailed by a fighter plane that shot it down, we'd have have an instant internet response to every rumor, misinformation dispelled by primary sources and citizen journalists on the scene.
4. More, more, more opinions
There was no real punditry on 09-11-01. We were too shocked to pontificate. Today, the real-time Internet enables mob mentality. There would've been a thousand times more calls to arms and pleas for peace. To take the lead on this massive online conversation, the White House staff, which now tweets from @whitehouse, would need to be forthcoming about what the hell was going on, rather than locking down communications the way the Bush administration did.
Would the proliferation of transparency and accountability that supposedly comes along with widespread social media have prevented 9-11 from happening? Almost certainly not. But most likely, had we had the communication capabilities that we do now, we would have more evidence, more primary sources, more insights from random people not parked in front of CNN's cameras. If nothing else, a lot of us would have felt less powerless and alone.
Here is thoughtful post by Mashable, focusing on remember 9.11 through social media.
