The power of Social media and a NYC storm

This week a devastating storm hit New York City.  Unfortunately for me, it was right outside my front door and to see my place of refuge and emotional attachment changed in a matter of 10 minutes,well, it's very sad. 

But besides dealing with the emotion of the huge loss, I put on my social media hat and jumped into action and started taking load of photos.  I was at the "ground-zero" of the storm and this type of response to an event, is what makes social media so powerful. You don't have to wait a day or a week. Amazingly we report in real time, even before the reporters got there. As a matter of fact, I had already posted a photo of the damage an hour after it happened and not one reporter was to be found. They must of picked up my photo in my twitpic post or someone else's, and decided to show up when the next shift began, at 6am. 

And thinking about how powerful our collective presence is, I can't help but to think of helicopter/plane crash over the Hudson that happened August 8th. Although there is a backlash on youtube about the gory video posting, it provided necessary details to the press and NTSB.  

Social media is an incredibly powerful tool. Yes, there are misleading and false stories that can do damage. There will always be the few that ruin it for the many. But in the hands of honest folks, we, as a collective community,  are changing the way in which almost all information is obtained, viewed and disseminated.  And that's pretty powerful.

An appropriate little plug. Central Park could really use your help.