Why A Vigil To Remember A Tragedy?

Vigil according to Wikipedia is an outdoor assembly of people, held after sunset. The definition continues with it can be held in protest or in memory of lives lost to tragedy.

After the horrific plane crash that occured in Austin, Texas last week, a few of us decided to host a vigil tomorrow evening. Our goal is to remember those who lost their lives as well as to show those left behind and those affected by the event that we are here to support them.

It's both a sad and controversial disaster and the opinions abound on all sides.

I called Lani and Benn Rosales the day after the crash and told them how I thought that we as a social networking community should be the ones to step up and hold the vigil. Omar Gallaga, of the Austin American Statesman, is the one who put the idea in my head with his article titled, "Social media speeds up news-gathering in plane crash aftermath." (Steve Buttry posted a similar article dissecting how Twitter played a part in the event @statesman : A case study in using Twitter on breaking news)

For many people in Austin area, it was the first time since they'd joined the social networking community to experience the lightening fast speed that occurs when news travels via microblogging.

In January of 2008, when Twitter was a much smaller community many of us were affected by the death Ashley Spencer in Louisiana. People were chatting with her within the same hour that she died in a car wreck. Her Twitter stream went from vibrant and very alive to listless and dormant. Those of us who had become her virtual friends knew that Ashley was a new mom and looking forward to her military husband returning from overseas.

We grieved together online. Several people even traveled to her memorial service. It was shocking and sad and it moved us. An account where we could make monetary contributions was set up to be distributed to her surviving family.

This has obviously happened more than once over the years.

As a physical community it's easy to join together and grieve and be supportive of one another.

For those that are still new to online communities whether it's on Facebook or Twitter or other online sites it may seem weird at first to meet in person with the people that you only know in an online world.

For those of us who have been on Facebook or Twitter for a while it's actually quite normal. We love to get together for over coffee, to learn about new ideas over breakfast (Social Media Breakfast), to hang out in the evening over pizza (Social Media Club), to learn how how teachers teach in unconventional ways (Ignite Austin) or to come out and have a drink at a happy hour (Big Ass Twitter Happy Hour).

Attending those events are networking opportunities, fun times, and often times silliness abounds.

A vigil though? A vigil for a tragedy steeped in controversy started by a man who burned down his families home and killed another person, hospitalized people and traumitized countless others?

Yes. Sometimes we come together in a physical sense, take our relationships offline and share a quiet moment together. Tomorrow night we will do just that.

• If you Tweeted about the event
• If you sent an e-mail to others about the event
• If you cross-posted a story about the event on your Facebook page
• If you took a photo of the building and posted it to an online site

Then tomorrow's vigil is for you.

Join us and remember the tragedy of a husband lost, a family's home destroyed, a son who will never hear his military veteran father's laugh again.

Join us to show your neighbors who officed in the Echelon building and complex that you are here for them, to listen to them and to console them when they are awake for hours on end because of nightmares they have from being in the building.

Join us for a moment of silence at sunset on Research Boulevard in front of Manny Hattens in the large grassy area as we look across to the building as it stands a week after the Austin, Texas Plane Crash.

Mass Communications Week at Texas State Adds Web 2.0 to Schedule

Sheila Scarborough, blogger-writer, asked me to join her and Omar Gallaga, reporter at the Austin American Statesman, on a panel discussion entitled Web 2.0 in the Real World. (photo shows left to right, Sheila, Omar and me). The panel is just one of Texas State's Mass Communications Week events set to occur October 20 - 23, 2008.

This is a super exciting honor for me as I'm a TX State (SWT) alumni and hold my degree in Journalism, it became Mass Communications the following semester, with a focus in Advertising.

I'm always eager to share with people on how to interact with each other on the internet. Talking to students about it will simply be a bonus. I think they are much more familiar and already take part in so many Web 2.0 forums that they probably don't even think twice about it. Talking to adults is a whole other topic.

In the Human Resources world, that is my profession, I think it's a struggle right now to define where we can and can't join in on conversations. About five months ago I set up a Ning site for a group of my HR colleagues in and around the Austin area. We're involved in HR departments of technology companies so one would think that this would be an easy step.

For the most part it has been pretty easy. And I believe that's probably one of the large misconceptions. Web 2.0 is all about interaction and conversations. It's not a stagnet website that tells me this and that and doesn't allow me to take part.

Our HR Ning allows us to communicate in a much more efficient way then we did when we blasted e-mails to the entire group several times a day. It also allows us the ability to keep our group closed and we don't accidently give our member's personal contact information away to the rest of the world.

I've been so impressed with our little Ning site that I've also set up one for my Home Owner's Association. I'm the Communication / Newsletter Chairperson and the Ning site is simply an extension of that group. It allows the members of our HOA to connect in a way we haven't before. It personalizes our neighbors and brings a sense of a better community.

Web 2.0 to me simply brings the world to my doorstep and allows me to interact with others from the comfort of my living room and from time to time allows me the chance to put on events, host events, speak at events with the people I've become friends with in my cyber world.

Would You Believe I'm in the Old Category?

(Photo: ABC News)

Okay, maybe not the old category, but definitely in the 30+ category. The reality is I hit the 40s group back in September and goodness I don't feel that old. Even fifty's beginning to look younger.

A few weeks ago, Sarah Lindner of the Austin American Statesman newspaper read one of my blog posts and sent me a note to see if I might be interested in her interviewing me for a story she was writing about Facebook users over the age of 30. I told her that I'd love to be included.

Her story was published today, Facebook for thirtysomethings, it helps those of us that haven't started an online persona gain a better understanding of its uses, benefits and reasons to be on such a site.

It's not that I think everyone of us should be on MySpace and Facebook and LinkedIn and Twitter, but for me, especially as the recruiter part of me, being involved on these and other social networking sites is a super advantage to my career. For others it may simply be a way of connecting with people of like interests and learning from their new network of friends. Most of all it's learning how to begin conversations.

Chris Brogan, a friend I connected with first on Facebook, introduced me to Twitter is the King of Conversations. He's a huge proponent of social communities and the benefits of getting to know each other on a personal level - beyond simply wanting to connect with someone that may be of benefit to you on either a personal or professional level.

I like to think that I subscribe to Chris' philosophies on social networking and that beyond my trying to help others with their careers and help me learn from their knowledge of the things that interest me that I am adding to my connections lives in a positive way.

So, get out there, find a site that works for you and begin your own conversations. You'll be amazed at your results.