I am going to say right now that the ROI questions about Twitter is officially proven, dead, buried and coffin nailed shut. There were intense debates about whether twitter added value after the Mumbai Attacks or if it obscured the social conversation with misinformation, unconfirmed reports, people trying to find information about the event. After the events of January 15th 2009, specifically Twitter (a micro-blogging service) breaking the news and first image of the crash of United Airways Flight 1549.

Many people are excitedly talking about how twitter both changed and allowed the world to see this event. As I blog right now surly thousands of other bloggers are writing about this event, and contemplating the value that social media + technology (such as Twitter and iPhones) added to the reporting and propagation of information, images, and conversation around this event.

Upon writing this blog post I have not listened to or seen even one commercial media outlet, news channel or local media station. My T.V. is OFF, I have googled nothing!!! Strictly using Twitter and Wikipedia I have derived the following:

1. US Airways Flight 1549 went into the Hudson River @ roughly 3PM as it was taking off in NYC
2. The cause of the crash was airborne waterfowl (birds)
3. All of the people got off the plane and survived, cases of hypothermia were reported
4. Ferry’s operating in the Hudson River aided in get the people off the plane as it sunk, others used life rafts
5. Passenger Janis Krums with an iPhone got the first picture of the event and uploaded it to Twitter via TwitPic
6. An iPhone was used to take the first picture

Go See The Event Unfolding and Citizens Respond

Twitter Search: Hudson River | New York’s Hudson | US Airways

Twitter Hash Tags: #Hudson River | #flight1549 | #USAirways

News @ The Speed of People

Because of Twitter, Wikipedia, Citizen Journalism and web 2.0 I saw this event move at the speed of people, rather then at the speed of traditional / corporate media. No swooshy camera shots, or talking heads asking stupid questions to fill air time, no repetitive video clips playing over and over and over and over again. No middleman, no spin, no convolution, no agenda needed…just pure news. I got to see what happened as it happened. Imagine that, what amazing social efficiency.

People indeed do want just the facts and want them @ the speed of people! Could it be that everyday people who are empowered by social media and technology can report information on an event more quickly, more acuratly, more collaboratively to add more value then a new outlet (the “experts”) With Twitter, wikis and social media that was exactly my experience today. Here is a new acronym for the community:

TGFT = Thank God For Twitter!

Remember here that citizen journalism will probably never replace big media altogether, but why should it? These two mediums have their pros and cons, they are not the same, they are complementary. They are like a new ecology of social news balancing each other and playing off one another dynamically. They are like democracy, a total reflection of all that we are – good, bad and everything in between. I believe that Twitter is good (so far) and I am not quite sure were the mass media rates at the current moment.

How I Experienced the US Airways Crash Through Social Media

I knew something big was going down when I saw 465 new tweets on my TweetDeck in what have must have only been an hour or two period that I was not actively looking at the app. My first thoughts were this is probably a terrorist attack ahead of Inauguration Day, my stomach sank, then as I scrolled up Tweet deck…I saw “flight, plane, hudson river” and it sank even more. I hit the first picture link and saw the incident for the first time, was so relieved to see the plane in one piece, not blown up or burning and passengers getting off safely. Mind you that all of this happened in a span of about 30-60 seconds. Fast Right?

Wikipedia & Wikinews Now That is FAST

Clicking a link on a Tweet entitled “Wikipedia now that is FAST” yielded the still evolving wiki article US Airways Flight 1549.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Airways_Flight_1549

This wiki article is a mass collaboration between many people who know about the event, and everything involved in the event which is still occurring. Right now people are adding information about the pilots and the type of plane it was (the model and specs) and many other things that others have not thought of yet. When so many people focus their minds and efforts on one single event in such a concentrated period of time what emerges can be pretty amazing (most of the time), but hey no media is without flaws. If I was not on twitter or not on twitter in that particular timeframe, my experience could have been very different.

ROI and the Risks of Not Doing Social Media

I think in light of today’s events it is worth bringing up at this critical juncture in time, the inevitable fact that for most organizations, the risk of NOT doing social media (or even looking into the possibilities) is becoming a more significant risk. Social media is no longer new (4+ years old) and chances are that your competitors are probably starting to use it. It is even more important now that we are in the midst of a major economic downturn!

Comment Questions

1. How did you experience with the crash of Flight 1549?
2. Where were you and how did you hear about it (through what media)?
3. How did you feel when you heard about it, what were you thinking ?
4. What was your reaction and thoughts when you heard the news broke from Twitter & TwitPic?
5. How did the information you heard from twitter, vary or differ from what you heard through traditional news channels? (Speed, Quality, Images etc)