Each to their own, I suppose, but there have been instances of something like this happening in a round about way. Not up the side of a snowy mountain side but in their own home.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...helped-her.html

Facebook friends indeed.

The world is a strange place also and folks can be quite unpredictable, I suspect some folks would get a little upset if broadcasting your own demise and the mountain rescue got there before you didn't pass away. They would have seen it all as being a little over dramatic if you survived unscathed and it probably doesn't do much for the WTL either at that point in time. It would probably be a better tactic to just record your last thoughts and goodbyes to real friends and family etc using the video camera on the smart phone to be found later when your body is recovered.

Using the phone texting system is quite tricky for me at the best of times as well, let alone whilst being half dead up the side of a mountain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGpVpsaItpU Even walking and texting can be a little tricky for some.

What does that have to do with the efficacy of Facebook and Twitter as a means of communication? Also, what does that have to do with I said? You're basically making up stuff and arguing with yourself.

The folks that run these types of businesses operate on the dark side. Some are worse than others but on the whole will cynically attempt to manipulate everyones psychology to make a buck. Thats my personal opinion I'm afraid.

Sorry If you think that I've read to much into what you said, sometimes written communication isn't as complete as a personal face to face or voice interaction. This is why sometimes we all have be careful about what is said using the written word. If I overstepped the mark with the previous reply then I apologise.

Might I suggest you try SKYPE then?

Ha, ha, ha!

I was just talking to a new nurse on our unit about the aftermath of Katrina (here in Baton Rouge).

I remember how many family members were desperately looking for each other and how many tearful reunions I watched. Facebook wouldn't have solved this but it would've been a very valuable tool for someone to put a post up "I'm here in Baton Rouge and I'm ok".

This creates of course a number of problems, (How do you get computer access in an emergency if you don't have an iphone, the "lost" individual being incapacitated and can't communicate with others, etc).

One never solves problems. One only trades off consequences.

I have an android phone and use an app that lets me make one post to multiple services. I write a quick post and it goes to facebook, twitter, google buzz, google lattitude, etc. I've tested it out when hiking where the cell signal was spotty, I make the post and hit send and stick the phone in my pocket and as I move around eventually the posts make it there.
So as I'm doing whatever I'm doing I just take a pic and make a post here and there and all my services get updated, multiple trails of bread crumbs.

Assuming you can find an appropriate Twitter feed, users can provide very specific info that you would never hear on the TV or radio because the info is just too specific for a general audience. Instead of a dozen reports in the field, you've got thousands of folks posting their observations in real time, although the signal-to-noise ratio can also be quite high so you have to be careful about what you believe.

Like with yesterday's San Diego blackout, a lot of people needed gas because they were running out due to the gridlock, but many stations were out of power. In my area, the power outages were here and there, so people might Tweet about stations that were still open. (Not that I recommend people read Twitter while they're driving. Duh.)

Come to think of it, can you imagine what commemorating 9/11 would be like if we had old Twitter feeds to dredge up for all these TV specials? Dozens of messages like, "I'm on floor 87. Flames down the hall. I'm trapped!" It's tough enough listening to 911 audio tapes.

Yesterday, NBC News' main Twitter account was hacked and several fake Tweets about planes crashing into Ground Zero went out. The same group takes responsibility for Fox News' hacked Twitter feed not long ago, too. So these Tweets went out to the public, apparently coming from a major news source.

I mentioned in an earlier post about the signal-to-noise ratio of Twitter. Unfortunately, deliberate disinformation is part of the noise, on top of gossip, speculation, and otherwise uninformative content.

Although usually just an annoyance to the public and an embarassment to the organization that was hacked, considering the rapidity with which information is distributed and re-distributed nowadays, even one ill timed fake message like this, from an apparently credible source, could rapidly take on a life of its own. A Tweet about a fake tsunami after some region suffers a strong earthquake, a Tweet during some civil disturbance that greatly inflames passions, a fake Tweet about a dam or levee breaking in the regions already on edge from flooding, the list goes on.

Although apparently only three NBC employees knew the password to the Twitter account, one was the victim of a phishing scam and he clicked on an attachment that he should've known better than to try and open.

So exactly how does twitter differ from any other news medium ?

...Good point. As usual, check your sources and confirm before acting on twits.