Some news media have speculated that the Internet could not deliver news fast enough to the demands of its audience. They claim that the Internet, with all it "soft" news links to health and entertainment, loss sight of the real goal of News, to cover current events. Others have professed that the technology could not support the needs of the people.
I have a different story. My husband, who was at work at the time of this event, found that the only way he could find out what was happening was through the Internet. When radios and TVs are no standard at most workplaces, computers are.
Over the last few weeks, the Internet has provided a plethora of ways for folks to reach out. It's been the means by which I've learned if my friends are okay. It was the way that thousands of people around the world were able to donate money. When all the lines were busy for the America: A Tribute to Heroes, their Internet site, http://www.tributetoheroes.org could still receive donations.
According to a speech President Bush gave earlier last week, charity Web sites have raised $55 million in just 7 days. Major Internet and computer industries, like AOL and Microsoft, donated a good deal of time, money, and technology to help in the efforts. When Red Cross needed help entering all those names of donators and missing people into their database, a call went out to organizations like WebGrrls and people volunteered several hours of their time to help out. Several sites were pulled together to help with the coordination of volunteer efforts, such as Yahoo! or SilliconAlley Cares, an offshoot of Sillicon Alley Reporter and many other NYC orgnizations.
Memorial pages have sprung up all over the place as loved ones find ways to cope with the pain of the loss. Hundreds of talented artists spread their impressions and inspirations through graphic art on the Internet. People shared their talents in other artistic media, in poetry and music through the Internet to express themselves. Many sites, such as Suite101, have turned their attention to offering help and providing places for people to vent or console one another.
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