For me, it wasn’t Social Media that broke the news of Osama Bin Laden’s death; it was my Blackberry Messenger, which if you think about it, is also a form of Social Media since a lot of the information that comes through it, is in real time. The minute I actually thought there may be an element of truth to the messages, I turned on CNN at logged onto Facebook and Twitter. Lo and behold, it was all true. It was rather odd because for the most part, I am always logged onto one or both, Social Media platforms. However, at that very moment, I decided to take a break from staring at my laptop screen and at that precise time, the news erupted. It pretty much spread like wildfire then. Facebook statuses went into overdrive as everyone felt the need to let their social circles know about this possible death. Twitter went into massive overhaul as the number of updated tweets was impossible to refresh – that was the speed at which information was being shoved in our faces. In fact what I found most astonishing was that not only were all Social Media sites providing us with speedy facts but they happened to be more on top of it than even the news channel’s who had no choice but to turn to Twitter for updated information too.
Interestingly, tweeps and Facebookers were posting any information they could find from various sources quickly and efficiently not just before The President’s speech but even during. As he briefed the world on what had just happened, people were already tweeting parts of his speech to the word claiming that this was indeed a historic day for the world.
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