D2.0 Exclusive: In-Flight Photos from US Airways Flight 1549 Crash Discovered on Twitter
If a plane crashes into the Hudson and nobody sees it, did it really crash? Fortunately we don’t have to answer that question because social media means that we see every disaster as it occurs. First.
The first photo of today’s crash of a US Airways A320 into the Hudson River was, not surprisingly, posted to Twitter by a user with an iPhone (we love you Steve Jobs!).
Citizen journalism is back in action and the usual suspects are already engaging in the typical blogosphere back-patting. This is the real-time web after all and as a plane went down in smoke, FriendFeed and Twitter “erupted with info.”
Unlike last time, I have to concede that social media is beating the mainstream media hands down. Why?
Because I have been able to locate in-flight photos taken by a passenger with a Blackberry Bold as chaos ensued. They were posted the account of a female Twitter user, who miraculously happened to take a photo of herself as the plane went down. Fortunately she, like all the other passengers, survived.
Are all you twats happy? Can you move along now? Your social media news fix is someone else’s tragedy. Get back to fucking work.
That last photo seems like a waste of a perfectly good nipple and may very well be the true tragedy in this whole incident.
I’m just waiting for someone to be sued or killed because they were taking pics and texting with their cell phone instead of helping out, complying with emergency workers’ instructions or simply getting the f out of the way!
Brian, I suspect that is coming. Worse yet, the pics will be posted to the net right before the person dies.
Here’s an angle for social media “experts” to explore. How about a blogging platform for terminally ill people about to die. Maybe a camera that can detect the moment when someone dies? Better yet, how about a GPS for the soul?
I’m delighted to say Janis has agreed to take questions from followers of my blog, Third Sector Forums users and folks on twitter. The best questions will be posed to Janis and the full interview will be posted on The Lab.
So what are you waiting for…you can add your questions to the comments section of the post: http://thirdsectorlab.co.uk
I’ll be taking questions over the next 24hrs, right up until 20:30 GMT on 19th January 2009.
PS…Snakes and breasts questions welcome!