Schultz Fire and Twitter

Lorraine B. Elder at the Northern Arizona University E-Learning Center wrote a lovely article about how Flagstaff officials and locals utilized Twitter for sharing up-to-the-minute news about the Schultz Fire.

From her article, Twitter Spreads Wildfire News Like, Well, Wildfire:

If your impression of Twitter is that it’s only an endless stream of inane chatter, think again. If you judiciously choose the people and groups to follow, Twitter can serve as your up-to-the minute personal newsfeed. Of course you need to view some tweets with a critical eye. Not everyone who who uses Twitter follows the journalistic standards and ethics we’ve come to expect from mainstream media, but many regular folks do a fine job of reporting the situation.

I am honored she included me on the list of folks doing a good job of reporting the fire, along with our respected local city, county, state, and federal officials, and local journalists and news organizations.

On the subject of Twitter and the Schultz Fire, popular social media guide, Mashable, picked up on the fire story when it happened and posted a story, Massive Flagstaff Fire Glimpsed in Twitter Photos, about our use of Twitter and related photo sites that helped spread the news around the world.