Mexico City Earthquake, reported on Twitter first

Jeremy #46: A user posted to Twitter “a few minutes” before the web site was updated? That user could have also blogged about it and that would have had the same impact.

A blog post takes more time to compose than a Tweet. Ten seconds vs. two minutes doesn’t sound like much, but it can make a difference. And Tweets are more “pushy” than blogs: There’s the RSS lag Robert notes, plus the SMS component (though few folks get Twitter updates on their phone). Twitter feeds seem to be pinged more frequently with tools like Twitteriffic, though that could be a downside from the server end.

Rather than getting one Tweet for help, though, which does rely on a rich contact network, I think the power of Twitter can be in the numbers. The big numbers. A thousand canaries in the coal mine, to adapt a cliche.

If one guy Tweets his house is rocking, it could get lost and ignored in the stream of “drinking coffee” and “reading Scoble” posts. But I can see some map and mass mashups that could pick up on a sudden flurry of Tweets in a given region to detect a major event. Fifty mentions of an earthquake would escalate things and catch more attention.

http://www.digg.com/tech_news/Canada_Worse_than_3rd_World_Countries_when_it_comes_to_Mobile_Data_Access

Nobody should ever wonder why so few Canadians have twitter accounts. I’m on Rogers fido with my RAZR and have been for over a year now.

Had Mexico been Canada, you would have found out via Harry Potter Owl, instead of any mobile access communication.

I made 2 short phone calls from Philadelphia and Florida in February and got a $250 bill from Rogers because I used the cingular network. My base fee is $20 and I made no other calls outside of the base plan.

Rogers, the R stands for RAPE.

No Twitter for me.

Eh, I’m not sure why this is surprising or newsworthy.

The USGS site is automatically updated but it does take a few minutes to gather data and do the calculations to find the epicenter and magnitude.

Wow, this is the first I’ve heard of the earthquake. I stopped watching TV years ago, but I’m usually still able to keep up with the news. I’m surprised I still haven’t had any “mainstream media” exposure to the occurrence.

I’ve been monitoring earthquakes for almost 20 years. Not professionally – but daily. First by phone calls and then on the computer. There really is a pattern.
If, an earthquake occurs in Japan, you can be sure it will go south and around the ring of fire that way.

I would be willing to bet that when an earthquake that
size hits Mexico, we in the USA will feel larger quakes
the same week. Heads northward.

The past 4 years there have been MORE BIG QUAKES in a shorter period of time than I have ever monitored.
My kids think I am paranoid because I have checked at least 3-4 times a day during all these years – there is a pattern.

I’ve been monitoring earthquakes for almost 20 years. Not professionally – but daily. First by phone calls and then on the computer. There really is a pattern.
If, an earthquake occurs in Japan, you can be sure it will go south and around the ring of fire that way.

I would be willing to bet that when an earthquake that
size hits Mexico, we in the USA will feel larger quakes
the same week. Heads northward.

The past 4 years there have been MORE BIG QUAKES in a shorter period of time than I have ever monitored.
My kids think I am paranoid because I have checked at least 3-4 times a day during all these years – there is a pattern.

“I don’t even know anyone who has access to ham radio”

So? Just because YOU are so insulated that you don’t know anyone that has a HAM radio doesn’t invalidate his point.

“but it’s there for the resourceful.”

Assuming that’s it’s up and responsive when you need it

Twitter might allow people to say “a possible earthquake” or “a quake just happened” but it’s nothing more than that. You STILL need to wait for the USGS to put out the official announcement with all the relevant data, magnitude, maps, shake maps, along with “did you feel it” ALL of which is more useful than some ‘twit’ writing in to say “yo dude, big quake down here’

Also, the USGS data is presented within minutes after it’s confirmed…not bad for government work

Traditionally civilian communications worked more quickly and efficiently than the military and Government. Important to bear in mind.

What makes this interesting is the way that new forms of communication that cross geographies and create communities like never before are revolutionising the norm for the way that people find out about news. Where people historically were glued to CNN I wonder whether the future will see us having one eye looking at Twitter?

My post backs up this point