Updated: A big explosion in a high-tech city has sparked a torrent of citizen and media coverage over social media. One of the most emotional tweets to come out of the San Bruno fire is this one from @hector:
He followed up with a tweet explaining that his cousin is missing, as well. According to a few tweets from Twitter employees, Hector works at the company, which has sparked many messages of condolences.
Another social media company, YouTube has taken a special interest in the fire — it’s offices are two miles from the explosion. The site has made citizen coverage a centerpiece on the home page. KGO-TV has a partnership with YouTube for citizen video — called U Report — and a handful of clips have been submitted there. The station has been publishing a steady stream of tweets since the explosion — sustaining coverage through the night — outpacing other local media accounts.
The San Francisco Chronicle’s SFGate has done a great job on Twitter as well, retweeting others and responding to user questions. Same goes for SFGate’s Facebook account, not only posting updates but also answering posters’ questions. But the all-star on Facebook has to be the San Mateo Daily, which has been updating furiously. I’m impressed that they used Facebook in a truly interactive way.
The only hyperlocal blog we could find in San Bruno is Patch’s brand new site there, which is getting its first taste of a huge story. (Nearby, the Patch site in South San Francisco is reporting on it, as well.) The coverage includes a live blog, sidebars like “Lessons From Oakland Hills Fire Helped in San Bruno,” and video of last night’s press conference.
Meanwhile, PG&E has been publishing regular updates on Twitter, which has been getting retweeted frequently. And the Bay Area Red Cross is keeping folks updated on Facebook.
Also worth mentioning, the Contra Costa Times liveblogged the fire for hours last night, mixing in a Google Maps mashup. KPIX (CBS5) made decent use of Facebook to inform viewers of programming changes. (There were people upset the channel wasn’t airing Big Brother.) Have you seen other examples? Let us know.
