When I think back to September 11th, my thoughts go back to the impact of technology that day. I previously had written that the major news sites were down and cable news was simply repeating what little they knew. I tracked the story by listening to Howard Stern and alternating between Metafilter and Fark. Wired tells more:
When the world changed on Sept. 11, 2001, the web changed with it.
While phone networks and big news sites struggled to cope with heavy traffic, many survivors and spectators turned to online journals to share feelings, get information or detail their whereabouts. It was raw, emotional and new – and many commentators now remember it as a key moment in the birth of the blog.
When four planes were hijacked on a sunny fall morning, easy-to-use blogging services were still few and far between. Yet many who witnessed the horror of the attacks firsthand took to the keyboard to talk with the world.
Horrified Americans used e-mail, instant messages, any available communication tool. But weblogs meant large audiences, not just friends and family, could read those stories from the scene.
“I have a scrap of paper that flew onto my roof,” wrote New Yorker Anthony Hecht. “Typewritten and handwritten numbers in the millions. A symbol of our tragedy. It smells like fire.”
Many bloggers strayed from their normal writing beats to produce a rolling news service comprising links to materials and tidbits gathered by friends.
Unstructured technology, both in terms of organizing a response, search and rescue/recovery, contacting loved ones, breaking news, or providing updates, has consistently proven to be a strength of the open web and technology enthusiasts.
The question remains – what we will do during the next catastrophe? Microsoft is thinking ahead, releasing a product named Vine which allows the user via web-connected computer send messages to small and large groups, as well as individuals, and to crowd source data during a crisis. The idea for Microsoft Vine was incubated by Microsoft GM Public Safety Initiatives Tammy Savage during Hurricane Katrina, with development initiated within the last two years. Techcrunch explains:
Vine is designed to keep family and friends in touch when other communication methods are either broken or not particularly efficient. Times of crisis usually involve a breakdown in mobile phone or other key communication infrastructures, and Vine is designed to be as hardy as possible to keep people connected. Vine can be accessed via a desktop client (Windows only for now), text message or email.
Status updates via Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and the like are well suited to these short, low bandwidth messages. I suspect that the infrastructure of those same services (as well as hosted email and webmail) is not sufficiently scaled to handle the millions who will swamp the service in search of news and updates on friends and families. Also, how well do the mobile offerings suit anticipated needs of users during a crisis? Further, while I don’t want to be seen as an opportunist, the social capital gained by a site delivering in a crisis could do wonders for registrations, subscriptions, and engagement (and later revenue).
Having a plan is more than smart business, or even shrewd marketing. In an emergency, we will turn to what is ubiquitous, familiar, and available. It’s in our national security interest for our social networking sites to be ready.
