Strive Notes

Thirty-two shot dead at Virginia Tech. As the headline rolled across my computer screen my first thought was that my daughters have friends at that college. I imagined the panic their parents must be feeling at that moment, trying to reach their own sons and daughters to make sure they are alright.

It takes me back to the fateful morning of September 11, 2001 when I stood at my office window in Washington DC and watched smoke billowing from the Pentagon. The cellular networks were jammed. Then the land lines when down. It took over four hours to reach friends and family to let them know we were all ok.

But that was almost six years ago. That was before online social networking became widespread.

Pick up a copy of this week’s Isle of Man Examiner to read the rest of Tech Talk, which looks at how, during the chaos last week in Virginia, victims, survivors and their families turned to the likes of blogs and social networks for status reports and to keep abreast of people’s whereabouts.

Filed under: public relations