The night of 26th November 2008 gave Mumbai a complete reality check. As I sit to pen this article I am completely irked by the entire situation and feel like a typical irascible man without any powers.
So we at DigiMouth decided to contribute in our own simple way. We bring to you an extensive analysis on how the digital media covered the Mumbai terror attacks and most importantly how regular individuals have used the media to tell their part of the story. Users have blogged, tweeted, uploaded photos from their mobiles and have created a whole ecosystem of information sharing.
This is the real Web 2.0 or whatever one wants to call it.
(Please click on the highlighted words to explore links)
Conventional (but not mundane) Media Coverage
The Rediff.com homepage offers minute-by-minute updates on the terror attacks and comes in pretty handy for those relying on Internet portals for fresh updates. The TOI Group does not fail to impress with ingenious analysis (and we all trust the TOI Editorial Team). If you couldn’t catch updates on TV, live streaming of new channels IBN and NDTV is your best bet.
The Power of Blogs/ Articles
Though there are many blogs and articles on the Mumbai attacks, I would like to feature just a few of them. The first being Parizaad Khan’s article as she spent the night trapped at the Taj. She shares a first person account with Mint (the HT Media financial tabloid) and you must read this story as it takes you through the night of horror.
Angered citizens have turned to blogging and you can really experience the power of blogs as you read them. Other than engraged individuals we even have celebrities who share our sentiments. I thought of adding a little “bling” to the article with actor Aamir Khan expressing his views over the attacks in his blog. But this article steals the cake, which quotes world leaders expressing their views on the worst terror attack India has ever faced.
Tweets Are Our Birth Right
Tweets were the “in-thing” with people expressing their discomfort, grief and anger over the unholy incident. The Mumbai string has a lot of tweets, check them out.
Through the Lens
Seems like Flickr was the choice for many who shared their stint with the terror attacks through their lenses. Vinukumar Raganathan has captured some gruesome shots on the aftermath and Navy activity. I really like this compilation and apparently it has received over 70,000 views.
On the other hand Namita Vora shares her photo journal on the Girgaum Chowpatty firing. The Flickr album captures the gunning of the runaway terrorists. These two terrorists opened fire at Chathrapati Shivaji Terminus (aka VT Station), Cama Hospital and even killed ATS Officer Hemant Karkare, encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar and DIG Ashok Kamte. Take a look at the pictures. Even Dina Mehta has a different approach to the entire incident. She shares the list of the dead/Injured in the terror attacks.
Google Maps in Action
This is the best use of Google Maps I have seen (though they could have done much more). Here is the map indicating the locations of the attacks in detail.
A Felicitous Use of Social Networking
OrkutHeroes.com is a community dedicated to some extra ordinary people for their extra ordinary talents and activities. Here is a dedicated OrkutHeroes forum on the 26/11 terror attacks. Well, Orkut surely scores lower when Facebook is taken into consideration. Facebook users pay an ode to the dastardly attack on Mumbai with a dedicated community. The Facebook community showcases 13,477 members, over 800 comments, 45 discussion boards, and still growing. Do not forget to run through the discussion boards.
Online Help – Just a Click Away!
Help is crucial in such times. HelpMumbai is a help page for the November 2008 Mumbai attacks with all the important numbers. In fact even they have compiled a list of the injured and the dead.
Even Wikipedia Didn’t Miss Out
The online encyclopaedia did not stay mum. In fact they have compiled a marvellous article on all the aspects of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
Out of the Box
Dipity has created a wondrous social timeline by sourcing and juxtaposing news stories and videos. Though this is a little tacky, in the end, it is a beautiful way to keep track of any such dreadful event. For the ignorant ones, Dipity is a timeline-based lifestreaming aggregator that revolves around timelines built in AJAX.
And even SMS
There were even a few SMS’s that were doing the rounds. These are the two that flashed on my phone:
- “Thousand salutes to Mr Hemant Karkare, Mr Vijay Salaskar and Mr Ashok Kamte. Please pay homage to our great warriors. Send this to all Indians.”
- This one is the best. The SMS sarcastically urges the so-called sons of the soil (the Shiv Sainiks and MNS), “Your Mumbai needs you for fighting against the ‘Real outsiders’.“
Well, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks have surely shaken the nation but it even reassured the fact that new age individuals have a powerful tool to express and share their feelings…the Internet!
But at the end of it all the DigiMouth Team salutes the brave men who sacrificed their lives for us!
