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Earlier today, US Daily Star Telegram quoted me extensively on a story on the role of citizen journalism in the Mumbai terrorist attacks.

Here is the full text of the Star Telegram story –

Users flock to social networking sites to share details of attacks
BY ANDREW CHAVEZ achavez@star-telegram.com
Thu, Nov. 27, 2008

While many people were glued to cable news channels looking for information about the terrorist attacks in Bombay, India, others, such as Gaurav Mishra, were glued to their laptops, taking in a flood of firsthand accounts posted on the Internet.

Mishra, a visiting professor at Georgetown University who studies online social media in developing countries, said many social networking sites provided information faster than major news organizations.

Researchers first saw the phenomenon during the massive tsunami that hit Indonesia in 2004 and saw it again in the U.S. during Hurricane Katrina, he said.

Mishra said the attack in the city also known as Mumbai was no exception. Internet use in India is low compared with countries such as the U.S. and China, but it has grown about 1,100 percent since 2000, with about 60 million users now, according to data compiled by Internet World Stats.

Within hours of the attacks, thousands of posts were on Twitter.

Users described what they were seeing and hearing as Bombay came under attack. Some posted images of the terrorists or asked fellow users to donate blood. Others offered to relay messages from those trying to locate relatives in Bombay.

On Flickr, “Vinu” had posted more than 100 photos within hours. By evening, some had been viewed more than 50,000 times.

The photos showed twisted metal, charred vehicles and law enforcement officials with guns. Mainstream news organizations such as CNN posted links to the photos.

“I’m sitting in Washington, D.C., and the fastest source of news is the Twitter feed,” said Mishra, the Georgetown professor. “Some of the earliest photographs were posted by somebody on Flickr. It’s amazing how engaged people are.”

And for those who didn’t have access to television news, some in India posted recording of news broadcasts on sites such as YouTube.

Wikipedia, a user-edited online encyclopedia, had an article on the attacks within a few hours, and it had been edited more than 100 times by users from around the world.

Mishra said users are driven to these sites because they can interact with the news, not just consume it. And he said that while he might have television news on in the background, he’ll mostly be glued to his laptop as the events continue to unfold.

“This just adds a new dimension to not only what’s being said but how it’s being said,” he said. “Even if you’re not creating news, you’re engaging with the news as it unfolds in very different ways — especially in situations like this when the situation is still unfolding very fast.”

Related posts:

1. My Interview with Indian Daily LiveMint on the Role of Citizen Journalism in the Mumbai Terrorist Attacks
2. My Interview with Journalism.co.uk on the Role of Citizen Journalism in the Mumbai Terrorist Attacks
3. My Interview with Indian Daily DNA on the Role of Citizen Journalism in the Mumbai Terrorist Attacks
4. My Interview with CBS News on the Role of Citizen Journalism in the Mumbai Terrorist Attacks
5. My Interview with BBC on the Role of Citizen Journalism in the Mumbai Terrorist Attacks