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| Responders to Washington Navy Yard |
In today’s unpredictable society it is always best
to be prepared. The tragic shooting at the Washington Navy Yard was a chilling
reminder that things can change in the blink of an eye. The morning of the
shooting, I was out running errands and had no idea of the tragedy that was unfolding.
When I got back home, I happened to turn on the news and was shocked by what I
discovered. No one seemed to have a complete picture of what was happening.
News stations changed their stories from saying it was most likely a lone
gunman to saying the police were looking for two other gunman who were
apparently at large. This brought back memories of the Boston bombing manhunt
and I feared for the innocent citizens who were now at risk. I hoped the police
could get the message to everyone in the area to so they could take the
necessary precautions. I quickly opened my social media sites to see if anyone
was sharing information but no one appeared to be talking about the shooting.
My guess was that my friends had no idea it was even happening. If I hadn’t
happened to turn on the news, I would have been left in the dark as well.
Scary
situations like this seem to be occurring more and more, and this is why I
believe Twitter Alerts is an excellent idea. According to Mashable’s site, "Twitter Alerts [is] a new feature
that brings us one step closer to helping users get important and accurate
information from credible organizations during emergencies, natural disasters
or moments when other communications services aren’t accessible.” This
would allow people to stay up-to-date and connected at all times. In this day
and age, it’s in our citizens’ best interest to be alerted when an emergency
situation arises.
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| Twitter Alerts |
Works Cited:
Roberts,
Joshua. 2013. Photograph. Washington D.C. People. 16 Sept. 2013. Web. 25
Sept. 2013. <http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20735374,00.html>.
Twitter Alerts. N.d. Photograph. AbcNews. 25 Sept. 2013. Web. 26
Sept. 2013.
<http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/twitter-launches-alerts-updated-emergencies/story?id=20373161>.
"Twitter
Unveils Emergency Alert System." Mashable. N.p., 25 Sept. 2013.
Web. 26 Sept. 2013.
<http://mashable.com/2013/09/25/twitter-alert-system/>.


Very good post - I know what you mean - I work in a Hospital and we don't even see the outside much less get news - we have started getting weather alerts and amber alerts on our phones - it's nice to be connected to the outside world.
ReplyDeleteLIKE THIS POST! THE ALERTS ARE HELPFUL, MY ONLY CONCERN IS THE INFORMATION SOMETIMES IS MISLEADING. I FEEL THAT IN A EFFORT TO CARRY NEWS FAST, THEY JUMP THE GUN AND REPORT PREMATURELY.
ReplyDeleteTwitter alerts can save lives and alert many of unforeseen dangers. Great topic.
ReplyDelete