9/11

Commentary About The Day

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There is temptation to live in fear in the times we live. My friends claim your lives for yourself, your community and the world. Bad stuff happens when we fail to be a part of a solution. Evil people have the potential for redemption if we show them love, peace, kindness and reconciliation. No one is out of the grace of ones higher power. We are one human family on this day, lets come together. Give peace a chance.

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Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi – In memory of those lost over these last 13 years seeking peace in our world.
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Remembering September 11, 2001 – Lest we forget the tragedy of our past. That day in September no one saw coming. People in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington DC were going about their daily lives when terror struck them. The greatest way to remember these folks is to go to work each day to make our country great for everyone. God bless those who we remember today.

Remember September 11, 2001

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Tomorrow I will be remembering this tragic day in world history with some special posts about the day of September 11, 2001. Many of us know where we were that day that changed our country. I hope to bring back some of what we experienced that day in hopes we can remember what it was like to come together as a nation. Friends that day changed the future and continues impact us all. We all know someone who has served and many of us have lost family and friends who were there. We cannot forget those who have served to protect us on the field of battle and here in the homeland.

September 11, 2001 – A Social Media Perspective

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I have been watching MSNBC this morning as they replayed the NBC coverage of the tragic events of September 11, 2001. One thing that struck me is that this event was covered well before social media/networking was developed.

MySpace which was the first social media platform of note didn’t start until 2003. Blogging was around but hadn’t reached critical mass at the time. News outlets had websites that were hit heavily by users wanting to get as much information as possible.

The most bandwidth people could get was about 3mb on a cable modem like I had at the time. Some businesses would have a T-1 line if they had to provide Internet access to many users like the newspaper I worked for in 2001. The World Wide Web was tested that day. 

Some news websites had to alter their functionality to give more information on the chaos of the day. Style gave way to basic function with fewer images and more text to give more users access to vital info. Press services such as the AP and Reuters fed information to media outlets so they could relay information to their viewers, listeners and readers. Network and 24 hour news outlets led the way in bringing pictures and sound into the homes of people around the country and the world.

Landlines and cell phones at the time were the primary communication tools for people across the country including  New York and Washington, DC during the events of that day. Texting was in its infancy, however people used pagers to connect with business and personal contacts. In the areas hit phone lines were jammed with people wanting to connect with others. 

Technology has improved, the web has come along to give us Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter and other sites. Text messages are sent in the billions daily. Twenty-four hour news has integrated social media into how they transmit and receive the news. Citizen journalism is a everyday part of our lives.