Social Networking Sites Outdo News Organizations

During the massive flood happening in Metro Manila that was caused by Typhoon Ondoy, there was very little updates on major news organizations like The Philippine Daily Inquirer.

I found out about how bad the typhoon was from conversations with my friends through Yahoo Messenger. As I logged on to Facebook, I was getting continuous updates on friend's wall on details of the flood.

I checked Inquirer.net and other sites but there was hardly any mention. There were reports of the flood, but there wasn't any photos or videos. As the situation got worst, he was telling me their parking lot is flooded and it's still rising. He had to move his car out to higher ground to save it.

I asked him to take some photos because he said that it never floods in Ongpin. I couldn't believe it either since the 20 years I've been there, I've never seen it flood higher than one inch. Here he was telling me it's up to his knees.

So he took some photos with his iPhone and e-mailed it to me. I told him I wanted to post it online to show my friends.

As it turns out, his photos were one of the first few photos posted on the Internet of the flood. As new photos from other friends came, we saw the full devastation of the flood caused by Typhoon Ondoy. Soon videos started coming out on Youtube like the UERM rescue video and the videos and photos showing Makati City under water.

Friends and family relied on Facebook and other sites to get their info, photos and videos as my friend was telling me there was very little news on the ground on TV that really showed the full devastation. There were reports by ABS-CBN and GMA News, but if you want first hand reports you had to rely on your friends on Facebook.

Some friends started posting areas where it was clear to pass and areas completely flooded to help people to plan their routes.

Others asked their friends to give assistance to their families who were caught in the flood and some people responded by saying they were on their way to help.

Now, Facebook is full of wall post on donation information and list of areas where one can drop off relief goods.

What happened on September 26, 2009 was similar to what happened during Hurricane Katrina were updates of people in New Orleans were posted by bloggers and other sites to inform friends and family of their situation.

This is the rise of citizen journalism and faster dissemination of information.

In some cases, only through the Internet could someone really get fast response to their questions and pleas for help as government hotlines were overwhelmed.

The Internet and social networking sites proved to be a great tool as it spread out information faster than the news network and government agencies.

This proves that the Filipino people are always willing to help their fellow countrymen in whatever small way they can. Whether it be through monetary contribution or just the simple fact of spreading out information to get it to the right people.

Bayanihan is still alive. I hope the Filipino people remember this and do this every day in their lives and not just during a crisis.