siriuskase's Journal: Let's debate emergency communications, not gun control

It's been 2 days since the massacre and the gun control debate has been revived again with all the deaf loud people screaming the stuff that no one hears. As important as that might be, I think that the debate that needs to be promoted is how to communicate effectively in an emergency. Although plenty of unfounded rumors were mongered last Monday, the most effective communications among the Virginia Tech Community, the loved ones at home, and the rest of us were by new technologies such as text messages, camera phones, blogs and social websites. The performance of those with official responsibility seems at this time to have been too slow and incomplete to save lives, and completely unsuitable for survivors to get help or assure that they were okay. Traditional broadcasters are also unsuitable to deal with the volume of information flowing around and out of Blacksburg that day. With ham radio, which has traditionally stepped in to handle this "welfare traffic", being on the decline, it is only natural that new technology be used to contact loved ones.

That was my bit. Here's a bit more from Wired Magazine:Lessons From Virginia Tech: A Disaster Alert System That Works.