Not lost, just undiscovered.

Yesterday, in our Media Relations class, we talked briefly about Twitter and its impact on PR.

I’m not an expert on Twitter yet, but from reading various blog posts and talking to enthusiastic users, I am learning how Twitter allows people to build relationships, share information and interact in real time.

I mentioned to the class that on the night of the US Presidential Election, I followed the election.twitter stream.  I was in awe as I watched hundreds of people tweet their immediate reactions to Obama’s win and it really hit me then that this was a moment I would never forget.  That’s when I started to realize that there was something special about Twitter.

Yesterday, there were two great examples of the power of Twitter:

U.S. Airways flight 1549 crashes into the Hudson River

We were in our Media Relations class and our professor, Barry Waite, was showing us examples of media relations in the news.  When he opened the CBC page, we saw that there had been a plane crash in the Hudson.  He then opened Twitter and asked his followers to say hi to our class.  A few minutes later, someone responded with a link to a story on how Twitter broke the first photo of the plane crash: http://ad.vu/2hrc. The class was amazed.

Toronto’s West End Blackout

I was at home working on the computer when all of a sudden my Tweetdeck (which I had installed only a few hours earlier) started making a lot of noise. I didn’t have the TV on or the radio, and so it was through Twitter that I learned that part of the city was without power.  Quickly I picked up that people were using the #darkTO hashtag for the conversation and I began to follow it myself. People were posting TTC service updates, Toronto Hydro updates, phone numbers for help, and even supportive messages.  An hour after it began, CBC posted this story: Twitter Shines in TO Blackout

What both of these examples showcase is the power to reach a group of people and share information instantaneously using Twitter.  Media outlets were watching streams on both events and not only were they adding information, they were also using information from other tweeters to build their own news stories.

Here’s another story: A friend of mine ran to work in the morning because her apartment was freezing.  A few hours later, she tweeted to #darkTO and asked if her area has power yet or not.  She received a faster response (telling her no) by tweeting than if she had gone searching around the web for that answer.

Are there any other examples of how and why Twitter is so great? In what ways is it not?

Photo Credit: ComicBase – Creative Commons License (BY-NC-SA)

I know I haven’t posted in a long time and this is because school has been hectic. I just finished the craziest week of the semester (so far) which included something due every day of the week.

One of these major projects was my Media, Information, and Technoculture honours seminar project. I am enrolled in the The Art of Commentary: Editorial Cartooning and the Role of Dissidence in the Press seminar class in which we study editorial cartoons and the history of cartooning. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the class but it is now one of my favourites. We not only look at editorial cartoons, but we also learn about the political and historical events that were occurring at that time and see how the cartoonists engaged in political commentary through their work. It’s amazing how powerful and strong the cartoonists’ messages can be.

Along with attending lectures, we each worked on a research project throughout the semester and then held a half-hour seminar for the class to present our work. For my project, I looked at the topic of genocide – something I became very interested in and passionate about since I took the Century of Genocide class last year. I started by researching all editorial cartoons that deal with genocide and then slowly put together a theme.

I ended up talking about the phrase “Never Again”. After each genocidal event starting from the Holocaust, we (the public, the international community, and the United Nations) said “Never again”. However, we all know that genocide has happened and is happening again and again.

What I found through my research is that editorial cartoonists criticize the United Nations, the western nations, the western media, and the public for their lack of interest, lack of action, and inability to do something to save people (an inability that comes from conflicts of interest, veto powers, etc). It has now gotten to the point where the cartoonists look straight at the words “Never Again” and show how empty the words are. “Never Again” is just rhetoric.

In my presentation, I used these themes and worked through information and cartoons about the Holocaust, Rwanda, and Darfur. I was nervous about not giving the topic enough time because it is very important but I feel like it went well. I want to highlight here two of my favourite cartoons, both of which I think have powerful messages:

And finally, I finished the presentation with the following animated editorial cartoon (you have to click through to view the flash video). I look forward to your comments.

To all the Canadians out there:

Tonight, when you sit down for some political TV, are you going to watch the Canadian Prime Minister candidate debate (English) or the American Vice President candidate debate?

My guess is that most people will watch the US debate and just read about ours tomorrow.

What does that say about political debates, our candidates, and us?

(of course, I realize that many people will watch neither…)

I’m sitting in a tiny hotel room in Hiroshima, stealing borrowing wi-fi from some other building because the hotel’s is acting up.

I have so many stories to tell you all but I can’t get into them now. I’m just amazed because I still have a week to go.

Last night we were in Koyasan (or Mt. Koya, if you’re not Japanese). Atop Koyasan is a village full of temples and shrines. It was a very quiet and beautiful place. We stayed in a temple overnight and got up early to attend the prayers.

It was a wonderful experience and the only downside was that it was freezing and us Canadians (who, as we were told by some Australians we ran into, should be used to the cold) did not have any warm clothes with us, so we spent a lot of time shivering. Haha, but every experience is one to remember.

Today, we were in Hiroshima and we visited the Peace Memorial Park and the Museum. The museum talks about Hiroshima before the bomb, during the bomb and after. I was struggling with my emotions the entire time. I decided that instead of being angry I should probably think of some way of putting my energy into more positive things. More on that later.

Anyway, that’s all I have to say for now. I’ll blog more about my adventures (including Tokyo, the contest, Mt. Takao, etc) soon.

This weekend I got three doses of Japan:

1) I’m almost done reading “Around the World in 80 Dates” by Jennifer Cox. The book is about travel journalist and author Cox, who realizes that while her work life is great, her love life is horrible. So in an attempt to fix this, she asks friends and friends of friends to help her set up dates all around the world. The book – part travel, part memoir – follows her thoughts as she goes through 80 dates around the world, all in the hopes of finding her Soul Mate.

Anyway, she just dated a few people in Japan and I enjoyed reading about some of the sights to see and things to do in Tokyo. I think I was more interested in reading the details about the area than what her dates were like. Just kinda =)

2) As many people had mentioned that I should watch it before leaving, I watched “Lost in Translation” last night. The movie is about two people in Tokyo who are just lost in their lives and desperately need to be found. I enjoyed the movie for its story, the acting, and also all of the hints as to what to see and do in Japan. As much as I see all these images, I still can’t imagine what it’s going to feel like to be in a car driving through Tokyo and seeing all the bright lights and people.

3) Today I watched all three hours of the mini-series “Kelly Osbourne: Turning Japanese” on Much Music (it originally aired on the UK’s ITV2). Kelly Osbourne is quite the character but I was really pleased with her in this series. I couldn’t help but laugh along with her and be impressed by her determination not to disrespect people and to try and understand. After all of her complaining or uncomfortable moments, she learned to understand. I enjoyed watching her go to different places in Tokyo, work various jobs, and take part in certain activities. Ha, I will never forget the Love Hotel segment. The best part was when she went to Kyoto and entered a Tea House to train with the Maiko for a week. It was great.

Anyway, as a result, I’m really itching to go to Japan and see everything that’s there. I think the biggest thing I’m worried about is being polite enough and not offending anyone. I’m just going to keep saying “sumimasan” (sorry) often to play it safe.

The time leading up to this trip has been very interesting for me so far because as part of the projects I’m working on at work, I’ve been reading and writing a lot about Japan, Tokyo, and Japanese history, customs, and traditions. I’ve been reading about things to see and do, talking to people about it, and also going through pictures to get a better idea. After watching both “Lost in Translation” and “Turning Japanese”, I’ve realized that I will definitely be overwhelmed by all that there is to see and do and how different things are in Japan from how they are at home.

It will be an interesting experience for sure. And I’m already beginning to think I’ll have to go back to Japan again in the future to see and do all the things I won’t be able to do this time around.