2Active Design

Yesterday, in the morning of May, 28, 2009, a 7.1 earthquake struck in the northern coast of Honduras and was felt throughout Central America. This caused several deaths and structural damages. This is a relevant event for Web Design in Honduras because it puts focus on all forms of media, and puts them all to a very real test. The media is something we want to take advantage of in business and one we want to use in case of emergency to find firsthand accounts quickly. Much the same way you might want to instantly communicate an emergency, it would be convenient to publish a press release or other business publication for immediate release.

First, I muss address several issues. This was actually a 7.3 earthquake. The number was later revised by the USGS after the 7.1 had been widely publicized. Also, this was not an isolated incident. At the time of this revision, 11PM on Friday, May 29, there have been 7 earthquakes recorded this week alone. The 7.3 quake off the coast of Roatan was by far the largest, but there was also another which struck this morning that was quite powerful because it was on land. This one was to the south of Ceiba and was probably felt with the same force as the 7.3, even though it was a 4.6.

Without question, Twitter, and other social networks were the quickest to expose the earthquake tragedy. These were all firsthand accounts of the people that simply stated that they felt a very violent tremor that lasted for several seconds. They would then chronicle the events and damages following the initial event. All this was published worldwide in a matter of seconds. The mainstream media did not pick up on this until a few hours later and were then able to present a documented response from multiple sources, but not nearly as rich as the firsthand accounts.

In the meantime, there were people that had no electricity and all they had were battery powered devices. Fortunately, the cell phone network was still functioning and I was able to get in touch with my mother and inform her of the situation she was in. It was not clear to them what was going on, and there was a Tsunami warning which wasn’t clear to them. I was able to read all the available news, check the USGS website that detailed the earthquake, and then keep an eye on various local news organizations that publish online. I was subscribed to all the local media RSS feeds and found out about their publications as soon as they were available. And the amazing part is that this took me a grand total of 30 minutes right after I woke up that day.

This is what sets the Internet apart from TV and radio. You can find the information you require much faster since it is not a linear presentation. TV and Radio are linear, therefore, we do not chose what is presented to us. While the Internet is no substitute for Radio or TV, it does provide a way for anyone to publish to the world, it allows you to pick what content you want to view and skip whatever is irrelevant.

Though most of the time in social media networks, this seemingly unimportant daily account of a friend’s life might not matter much to the average person, sometimes, they may experience something extraordinary, and they will be the first ones to publish it, followed by reporters and journalists. Remember, that it is important to get news not only from third parties, but also people that actually experienced the event. Twitter and Facebook both allow you to do this without actually engaging people directly simply by reading their updates if you are their friends. You do have the option to interact with them and inquire about anything they have mentioned.

Overall, I’d have to say I was well informed about the entire event even thought I wasn’t present, and I did not talk to anyone directly until I called my parents. By the time I did call them, I was able to clear up any doubts they had about what was going on since they had no access to useful information. I can say this would not have been the case if I had not been so well connected online. This also allowed me to still get to work on time and have a normal day since I was able to find the information I needed quickly and efficiently.

I believe it’s a valuable thing to be well informed quickly. Cut out all the commercials and other irrelevant non-sense. If you are focused on what you want, you will not get sidetracked. Why wait for important information you could get delivered to you instantly? Contact me for a consultation on how you can take advantage of these tools and resources to use that technology for your business or for your own personal use.