Hurricane Gustav & Internet Media
So I'm here at home, riding our Hurricane Gustov. I'm far enough inland that I'm hoping I won't see much more than some wind & rain, with minimal impact to utility services (unlike Katrina). A few days ago the media really started to wind up in preparation, and I noticed one of my Twitter accounts MPBOnline was really providing some useful information about shelters, gas stations, road & traffic conditions, and more. Since then I've started following a few more people (iDeeDee, iellie, TbroOnline) affiliated with MPB and other agencies, and I've found them to generally be ahead of the local radio and major media as to the state of things. They were the first to tell me about the contraflow conditions on i59 & I55. They were the first to tell me about the gas Shortages in south Mississippi. They've been giving regular updates on Gustav's strength, wind speed, and estimated landfall time. I've not even really needed to watch the weather channel or local news, and they're covering it all.
So, it's been interesting getting more news (and more accurate news) about Gustav with Twitteriffic on my iPhone than on the TV. And as an extra plus, if I lose power or cable internet access, I've got 3G to fall back on (as long as it's up). New Media triumphs again.
