Wireless , mobile , inclusive . When the crap hit the fan the entire talk group came alive “ chirping “ decisive , immediate, direct , 360 degree , asymmetrical , unselfish information .Volunteering , heading into the fray dropping assignments within proximity. Another picks it up .
Small numbers of pointed words cuts through the clutter . Mobile photographers and a photo editor , his team, topographically mapping the disaster from the shared experience of many . Focusing to singular strategy with ever changing variables based on the changing dynamics of police and fire ,road blocks , lanes , high points ,obstructions and local contacts . Streaming street names , land marks , places that "used" to be there , with wind direction and fifty letter chemical names or suspect info .
Push to talk , disarmingly simple . Editors , now sitting forward taking in scanner calls and live 2-way chatter . Grasping the weight of the situation from first hand accounts from people they know.
Converging fast and hard . The Walkie -talkie , the technology named for the physical movements of being able to “talkie” , while you “walkie”. No slick branding . Plain language . Twitter's distant cousin . Developed during WW2 by Don Hings a Canadian and Al Gross . Motorola created the technology based on one person speaking allowing many to listen and react.
In the arena of local newspaper culture it's unintended side effect was , team building ,cohesiveness , humour , friendships under extreme stress . Seeing the scene from many different angles , with many different eyes , directing the traffic control of coverage was lost with the cellphone . The 2-way could be monitored by other media and it became obsolete. The feeling was it gave away story intentions , this no longer the case in New Age news gathering. Chirp , Chirp . and a lot of crap to , with coded coffee break location tweets , ( many calls to Portage and Sprague) or was that treats .
Topic: Twitter's distant cousin (Read 1399 times)