I found an ironic example of how the internet can be of use in times of chaos. An article in the New York Times describes a recent incident in Texas where wildfires were threatening the safety of a community. Of course, in times of disaster, it is important to be able to communicate with other people beyond your own community. One woman had recently created a blog on her company's website and used the blog to complain about the horrible phone service that she, along with everyone else in the community, was receiving. The news traveled over to AT&T executives and other "high-level contacts" until an AT&T truck pulled up in the community to provide direct service and improve the community's phone service to five bars. The article connects this incident back to the power of the internet and the blog in particular, as a space in which members of the community can exchange information (including aerial surveys of their property). I believe one woman captured the essence of the article and what it is implying about the blog and the internet in general. She claims, "It’s the first time in my experience in a domestic disaster where citizens are taking control of their information,” Ms. Foster said. “We’re on the cusp of how we can use digital media to respond to these things. But it takes citizens to keep it together” (Seelye 1). I do wonder how the results might have been different if this incident occurred in a poorer community that included people with less connections, but I do appreciate the importance of the blog itself in allowing people to seek help in the first place. What are your thoughts on this article?
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/25/us/25wildfire.html?ref=internet
~Zakiyyah~
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