Following Mumbai Attacks via Social Media

Right now, the Indian city of Mumbai is reeling under coordinated terrorist attacks. In addition to mainstream news coverage from India and around the world, Internet users are sharing news and information — including people in Mumbai, some of whom are at or near the attack scenes.

Here’s a quick roundup of social media to check for updates and reactions. Some of this information is produced by professional news orgs and journalists, most is not. Use your own judgment regarding which to trust…

Twitter (UPDATED): It appears that on the ground in Mumbai, not many people are using Twitter to post firsthand reports. However, I am finding Twitter useful for links to blog posts, mainstream news reports, and photos and videos — which people from all over the world are monitoring and sharing.

A general search for “Mumbai” will collect everything.
The hashtag #mumbai is slightly more selective.
The hashtag #mumbaifamilies is helping connect loved ones.
You can also read geotagged tweets originating from within 15 miles of Mumbai.

Social news sites and citizen journalism (UPDATED):

Wikipedia had a current events page, 26 November 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Mahalo also is tracking the news.
NowPublic has multimedia coverage and an update on Twitter coverage.
Ground Report also has coverage.

Blogs: (Updated. New items added to top)

Canadian journalist Mathew Ingram posted about how this episode indicates that Yes, Twitter is a source of journalism — echoing the theme of my recent post: Can you commit journalism via Twitter?
Children of Bombay: Eloquent first-hand account of escaping an attack scene from Sonia Faleiro.
A Mumbai Help blog has been set up, and several prominent Indian bloggers are participating.
The community blog Mumbai Metblogs has lots of coverage, including photos and video.
India Uncut offers blogger Amit Varma’s firsthand account of escaping the scene of an attack.
Gaurav Mishra offers a roundup: Real Time Citizen Journalism in Mumbai Terrorist Attacks.
Maitri Venkat-Ramani also has a good roundup.
On Global Voices Online, Neha Viswanathan posted a roundup of reports from several Indian blogs.

Organization sites:

My E-Media Tidbits colleague Alan Abbey noted that the Jewish organization Chabad has been reporting on its own site about one of the hostage situations — at the Chabad House in Mumbai. Initial report and followup.

Maps: Here’s an embeddable Google Map of the attack sites

Flickr: Vinu has several photos from an attack scene.

In addition, here are some especially interesting efforts by pro journalists and news orgs:

The South Asian Journalists Association is hosting live discussions with journalists and experts in Mumbai and the U.S. about the terrorist attacks on hotels and elsewhere in Mumbai.

NDTV is streaming live Indian TV coverage.