A time to Tweet

Posted at 12:19 PM on December 22, 2008 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Tech

Mike Wilson of Denver is something of a media star today, mostly because when his jet skidded off a runway and into a ravine, and burst into flames in Denver, he thought it would be a good time to send a note to his Twitter followers (language warning). Twitter, the microblogging social network ummmm... thing ... has gotten plenty of props recently because of its ability to keep people informed with short microbursts of information from people living the news (in this case). And today there are plenty of stories around about how valuable Twitter has become in this regard.

But, still, it raises a somewhat minor question of whether our social networking capabilites are separating us from real life just a bit.

To everything there is a season. A time to be born; a time to die. A time to weep; a time to laugh. A time to tweet; a time to get the heck off a burning jet.

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Comments (4)

It strikes me as odd that in reporting an incident in which nobody was seriously harmed, much less killed, the media would use the word "survivor" when referring to someone who was on the plane at the time.

Posted by Brian F | December 22, 2008 1:05 PM

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I went through this same internal discussion this weekend when I was in a car crash with my family. First, I called 9-1-1. Then, my gut told me to Tweet. Instead, I called my insurance company and tried to keep my wife calm. I couldn't resist when I was inside the tow truck, though.

I think it's part of many people's DNA now. When something happens, you update your facebook page or your twitter feed. It's neither bad nor good. It just is.

Posted by Jason DeRusha | December 22, 2008 3:27 PM

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I would contend, Jason, that if your plane is on fire, it IS bad to Tweet.

As described in the news articles, this gentleman tweeted FROM the burning plane.

As you indicated. you had the good sense to wait until you and the family were safe.

I did enjoy knowing that the airline wouldn't give the passengers free booze, though.

Posted by Bob Collins | December 22, 2008 3:51 PM

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Times are tough in the airline biz. No free peanuts, no free booze, not even if your plane caught on fire.

I guess if Tweeting slowed you down from escaping or slowed others down it would be bad. But I don't see the harm. And it met your criteria of giving the media something to talk about in this slow news week!

Posted by Jason DeRusha | December 22, 2008 4:30 PM

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