I was suffering a bit of blog writers block on the train home from London today, and worrying that although there’s plenty Twitter related in my RSS feed, there wasn’t anything I could add to without a fair bit of research.
And then the train stopped.
Handily I was on Twitter, and mentioned it. Seconds later:
Which coincided with the announcement by someone actually on the train.
Then:
Turns out fellow social media person Simon Collister was on the train in front. Sadly his offer of a beer in the buffet car wasn’t enough for me to try and get the driver of my train to catch his!
It also reminded me of other occasions when Twitter has been useful in answering other train-related queries, such as when @davidcushman was wondering why trains were delayed, and I happened to see his tweet and find the answer within a minute or two, so he could make alternative plans.
Sure, the use of Twitter at times of global-reaching events and tragedies gets justified coverage, such as Mumbai, or U.S earthquakes. But it’s also worth noting the difference it can make it personal instances – and if you’re only dealing with Tweeters you know, there’s already an implied reliability.