Social Media, Mobile, and Power Loss
OK. I’m one of the hundreds of thousands of people in central Massachusetts without power due to the recent snowstorm. Estimates are that it could be until Thursday before we get it back (although I’m hoping this is a case of underpromise and overdeliver). Nevertheless, the most valuable source of information remains social media. Although power is down and traditional Internet connections as well, the trusty smartphone is getting the job done.
I found out that my kids school was cancelled first through Twitter, not TV, radio, or traditional Websites.- Facebook has allowed my neighborhood to coordinate changes in Trick-or-Treating days.
- I can monitor the electric company outage map to learn that little to no progress is being made, so I’d better prepare for the long haul. And I am increasingly irritated by their ineffective communication using social media (yes, I know they are overwhelmed, but repeating 140-character blurbs from their press release is both insincere and simply serves to irritate – they are talking without listening and without communicating meaningful information.)
- I can blog and monitor my class Twitter feed, even though I may be sitting alone in the dark (wife and kids went to bed early) by candlelight and still able work (semi)productively.
- Although not technically social media, the iPad has been a godsend, allowing my kids to watch some Phineas and Ferb (battery still has 85% after 5 episodes, awesome).
- And perhaps most importantly, it allows us to commiserate with neighbors, get wishes of support from people in sunnier climates, and generally stay connected to keep from going crazy.
So, I guess my real observation in this whole debacle (other than it can get really cold without heat) is the real power of decoupling social media from corded devices. Mobile really takes social media to the next level and allows it much greater power, organizing, and mobilization capabilities than ever before. While social media is a powerful phenomenon separately from mobile, the two used together is a powerful combination…at least as long as the batteries last.
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I’m right there with you. If it weren’t for my uncle’s 35-year-old portable generator, I would be a block of ice right now.
Could you post the link to that outage map? I’d also like to see how widespread the problem is in our town.
Usually my iPhone doesn’t last more than one because I’m playing too much with it, but I guess that one day of entertainment is a long time… I don’t imagine what else I could if I was stuck in the dark without my phone or my computer! Time would seem sooo Long!
Anyways, it’s really interesting to see that technology helped you when natural events failed you… Maybe are we reaching a point where technology start being more powerful than natural events? What if one day we could control everything?
That’s great that your mobile is still a great link to the outside world (work, social media, community, etc.). Even with the power on, it illustrates all the things you can still do online without ever having to sit down in front of a computer. The only limit is your battery. As for the company only posting insincere press releases, they are either misguided in their social media usage, have a restrictive social media policy, or are maybe worried about what the posts could reveal (inefficiencies or slow workers). Either way, good luck and keep charging that battery.