You always hear stories (or legends) about social media being able to report and react almost instantaneously to breaking news. Last night, I experienced one of these events that made me a believer in the ability of social media to function as a real-time news service.
I had let my sister borrow my car; this story sounds like a path to destruction already. She implied that she left it at the Marta station and left for the airport. I walked through each floor of the three parking decks at the station, twice, to no avail. I got frustrated and posted to Facebook, “Big thanks to my sister for visiting this weekend! Big ‘no thanks’ for not telling me where you left my car at Marta!”
Less than 3 minutes later, I received a comment from one of her friends telling me she had dropped her off at Marta and my car was safely on the street in front of my apartment.
3 minutes. That was the response time for a member of the social media community to help me with my problem.
In the future, I cannot imagine how useful social media will be in instances like this. Everyone connected to social media has a massive network of individuals who can provide instant updates on what they are experiencing and lend help when you have a problem that needs solving.
If you or someone you know has had an experience similar to this one, please share in the comment box below.
