Some thoughts on social networking & how I view the world through it

Not having television service I am sometimes out of the loop on things unless I happen to be jacked-in to the Internet. That was the case Thursday night. I was out of the loop (unplugged), so I missed all the news coverage of the horrific earthquake in Japan and the subsequent tsunami warnings for the Pacific Islands & US Pacific Coast. Instead, I was on the US mainland watching “Grownups” via Netflix-Instant.  I woke up Friday morning, and jacked back into the world and found out the terrible news. I spent the rest of the morning finding out what happened to friends/family throughout Micronesia via Facebook, emails, & Twitter; getting the news reports linked from Facebook & blogs about the tsunami approaching Hawaii; and reading blogs about the earthquake/tsunami in Japan. When the news that the CNMI and Guam were given an all clear, I was still asleep. I quickly found out that Palau, and FSM were ok (main islands). However, I was really concerned about the outer islands of Yap and Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands (low lying atolls, most between 3-6 feet above sea level). Even small tidal surges can wipe out crops and the fresh water lens, leaving the populations devastated. Through a discussion forum and on Facebook, my friend Clark Graham on Chuuk was able to report out on the status of the outer islands and that they were ok, and soon after reports that the Marshall Islands were fine. (Clark’s discussion post on Chuuk Reform)

This isn’t new news, of course…using social networking & the Internet to spread information has been widely reported for years (and most recently throughout the Middle East). The true power of social networking became apparent to me, personally, when I was Twittering during the Honduran unrest a year and a half ago. A father of a girl that was on a mission trip in Honduras picked up my Tweets and figured out I was at the same hotel as his daughters group. He emailed me to check on her safety, as the phones were out (but Internet was up???), and I was able to tell him that her group had left the hotel earlier to catch a plane out back to the US. Some guy I never met, didn’t know his daughter or the group, but via social networking he was able to get the info he desperately needed. I was reminded of the value of social networking again yesterday when I was the one searching for information.

This afternoon the Facebook postings and Tweets are back to the normal, random (and often pointless) musings I am used to seeing, but it is good to know that it is there when we need it (really need it). For those in Japan, and those Japanese abroad still searching for answers about their loved ones, I hope they can find what they need, as well. Far too many of their stories will not have a happy conclusion like mine did today. Through social networking and the Internet hopefully some minds can be put at ease through the instant stream of information that surrounds us.