One Man's Story: How Twitter Helped During the Tsunami

In a heart-wrenching story of the hope and devastation during the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, a professor and his student have begun analyzing tweets from regions hardest hit by the natural disaster. And, despite emotional hurdles, they’ve uncovered some touching stories of hope and salvation amid a tragedy.

Adam Acar, Associate Professor at Kobe City University, was sitting in a Starbucks when the news of the earthquake began filtering in. He didn’t hear about it on TV though – the first bits of news came in through tweets:

“Bored with reading a bunch of outdated mass media theories about the connection between technology, communication and social change, I started checking my Twitter timeline.

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