Like: # Stormporn

When Tropical Storm Irene was expected to hit the east coast of America at the end of August, the interest of millions of affected people was huge. The fear of another "Kathrina" was huge. Its progress could be followed live around the clock on practically every TV channel and on the internet.

The traditional media were particularly active. Despite the Syrian and Libyan crises, there was a lot of hype surrounding the tropical storm. There was hardly a broadcaster that didn't put its reporters in rubber boots and place them in a flooded street. All the stops were pulled out.

Blogger @jeffjarvis called it #stormporn - a new form of media pandering to natural disasters. He said that this constant repetition of the same phrases and the same images and this scaremongering without information content serves no one. Least of all the citizens. Of course a storm is a serious matter, but the coverage is more reminiscent of "The boy who cried wolf" than serious journalism. As a counterpoint to this, you could observe the exchange on social media. Here, too, people tweeted for all they were worth. Here, too, the preparations, the arrival, the transit and the devastation were diligently posted and shared as photos or videos (some spectacular images were created, http://bit.ly/qtGVB0 is one of my favorites). But somehow it was different here. More honest. More direct.

Gigaom.com even went so far as to claim that Twitter has replaced TV as a tool for information and hysteria. This of course raises some questions. For example, I think it's a good thing that those affected were able to integrate and share their own posts. This allowed people from the same area to help and advise each other online. What is suboptimal is that posts are often shared without being checked and untruths can spread very quickly (although it should be noted that swarm intelligence and a well thought-out information policy by the authorities work wonders in this case).

In this context, I particularly liked the official Twitter account of NYC Mayor Bloomberg, who was constantly posting important information about Irene. Times when the storm was expected to hit New York and how many miles per hour it would be traveling were posted. The @NYCMayorsOffice also announced which bridges were closed, that the Staten Island Ferry was no longer running, and that schools and nursing homes were closed.

At the same time, it also advised people to stockpile food and compiled a list of places that offered shelter for evacuees. This is precisely the power and uniqueness of social media over traditional media: the immediate, honest, direct reporting that allows authorities, citizens, eyewitnesses, data collectors and users to communicate directly without "middlemen". Jeff Jarvis' question "So the question the journalists should ask is how they can add value to that" is more justified than ever in times of the democratization of information. Not only in crisis situations, but also in everyday life.