Twitter for supporting public in cirisis - an example from Mumbai blasts 13/07/2011

While searching for mumabi blast updates on twitter I came across this tweet "Help directory #mumbaiblast http://bit.ly/orndiB" the URL given is a google doc, where people who are willing to help the blast victims could provide their details [Name, location, contact number and what help are they willing to offer]. It was amazing to see that with in minutes there were 100+ entries in the document from various parts of Mumbai offering accomodation, transportation etc . Also there were 50+ people reading the document online. Whoever created the doc has done an excellent job and I am sure it might have helped many. Hats off to this wonderful human being for the idea of keeping a public help directory in google docs and then publishing it in twitter. It reached pople in seconds and its just amazing..... Thanks to Twitter and google for poviding such powerful tools for free...

URL of the document: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmlFN3_L6ZeZdEUtb2twd3dZZ1FhdmlhNW9wZ1pTRUE&hl=en_US#gid=32

NB: I accept the fact that in India many people dont have a highend phone to access twitter or google docs. but still this was a great idea implemented in no time.

why is twitter more powerful than any other social networking platform

Initially I was not a great fan of twitter. But once I start using it, I realized how powerful twitter is. Twitter is very simple and that simplicity is its biggest strength. Benefits from twitter depends on the way you use it. It can keep you updated about the latest news, it can keep you updated about the latest happening around the world in your area of interest, it can connect you to the rest of the world and help you spread your ideas and thoughts, it can be a platform to discuss and share with people of similar interests; the opportunities are many.so if you are not a regular user of twitter please start using it right away.Visit www.twitter.com

The feature I liked most in twitter is the hashtags. using hashtags you can get instant updates about any topic. For example if you have to know what conversation is going on about googleplus around the world, just type #googleplus and search in twitter. You will be amazed by the number of results you get on this topic. 

To get your tweet tagged to a keyword just type  #keyword anywhere in the tweet.

You can follow me on twitter @SanthoshKrizhna