Online social media has been playing an increasingly significant role in world events recently, but nowhere more importantly than in Japan. The earthquake and tsunami put the telecommunications infrastructure of the country under pressure. Soon mobile phonelines and landlines were congested or unavailable. However, the Internet remained relatively unaffected, allowing people to contact their loved ones via Facebook or Twitter.
Only one hour after the earthquake, Japanese people send over 1,200 tweets per minute to inform everyone about their status. For many of them, Twitter and Facebook have become the easiest and fastest way to publish emergency numbers or for others to find shelters for those who found themselves homeless.
This is just one of the benefits of social media and how the virtual universe can impact and benefit real life situations….and just one more example of why it pays to be social.