Tags: Accidents and Tragedies, General News
By Alexander Villafania
MAKATI CITY, METRO MANILA – Back in 2001, the Internet was fast becoming a mode of global communications with people sending out emails or actively joining online forums.
Yahoo! and Hotmail were the most popular email services then – save for local email service providers PinoyMail and Edsamail. The forums PinoyExchange.com, PhilMUG.ph and Peyups.com were also at the peak of their popularity as like-minded people came together to discuss their passions.
Mobile phones were all the rage for many Filipinos especially after the height of the impeachment trial of former President Joseph Estrada.
Overall, this was as “socially networked” as you could get in 2001.
Then came September 11. At 8:46 a.m. in New York City, the first hijacked plane hit the first tower of the World Trade Center. Eighteen minutes later, another plane hit the second World Trade Center tower. America was under siege.
In the Philippines, where only a few thousand people then had cable TV, those who were able to catch the coverage of the attack started sending out text messages to friends. The story spread like wildfire but every time someone resent the message, it became more unbelievable.
Local TV networks started chiming in news about the incident late in the evening though AM radio stations were already running the story as it unfolded. Not until the early hours of September 12 did Filipinos awaken to a cacophony of sources talking about the worst terrorist attack on US soil.
Those who were awake posted messages on online forums, notably PinoyExchange.com and Peyups.com. Some users “updated” others by posting entire stories from CNN.com.
The breaking news section of Inquirer.net (back then known as INQ7.net) also kept up with the stories coming from AFP and Reuters. Some local online news sites didn’t even get the story until the next day. Photos – much less videos – were scarce during the first hours of the attack so people who knew of the attacks had to glue themselves to cable TV.
There was no Facebook, YouTube or Twitter in 2001. There were no wireless broadband telecommunications that would have allowed people to get news feeds on their devices. Or better yet, post photos instantly online.
People speculate what if social network services were available during 9/11. The better question is: Would social networks have saved any more lives if they were available during 9/11?
It’s a difficult question to answer even after seeing how successful social networks were in times of crisis – the Christmas Day Tsunami of 2004, the Japan earthquake and tsunami in February, and Oslo tragedy last July were first reported by social network users just moments after they happened.
One could wonder if those in the World Trade Center towers who got access to what was happening through their devices would have been saved. Maybe not primarily, because the two towers were already being evacuated immediately after they were attacked.
What social networks could have actually done best during 9/11 were to give on-the-ground eyewitness reports especially in areas were journalists could or have not yet reached.
With today’s mobile phones, users can send out text, photos, and videos through Facebook or YouTube on the fly, which could have given more information about the unfolding tragedy.
Social networks could have given rescuers and emergency response teams some knowledge where else there were victims who needed rescuing. Perhaps — albeit morbidly — victims and survivors could have sent their last messages to loved ones through their social network accounts.
Social networks could have had some significance in 9/11, primarily on reporting what was happening. It would have shown how reliable eyewitness accounts of the tragedy are to both new and traditional news media outlets.
It may not have stopped the attacks but it could have saved a few more lives.
(Photo taken from the 9/11 Memorial website)
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