Tuesday, December 27, 2005
The coming of age for a new media
Here is an infospace story to go with all of the other tsunami anniversary stories.
Jax
On new year's eve 2004, software engineer and blogger Bala Pitchandi was sitting at his computer in his New Jersey apartment. Around him, a party was going on. He got up briefly to toast in the new year, then sat down to continue his work. He wasn't under the thumb of a scroogelike employer, but volunteering his time for a blog that turned into a global phenomenon.
Jax
On new year's eve 2004, software engineer and blogger Bala Pitchandi was sitting at his computer in his New Jersey apartment. Around him, a party was going on. He got up briefly to toast in the new year, then sat down to continue his work. He wasn't under the thumb of a scroogelike employer, but volunteering his time for a blog that turned into a global phenomenon.
When the Indian Ocean tsunami hit on December 26 2004 the mainstream media was largely caught on the hop. It was Christmas, when many newsrooms were staffed with skeleton teams, and few western media outlets had foreign correspondents already in position to report on the disaster.
As the scale of the disaster began to dawn on Mumbai-based blogger Peter Griffin, and he shuttled between the television in the living room and the computer on his desk seeking out information, he realised that although he couldn't go in person and help there was one thing he could do from home: set up a blog. (More)
