I heard of this plane crash from my wife as she got delayed and did not hop her flight to CT. She told me a plane had just crashed (I was reading a book). I hopped on Twitter only to become horrified to learn of the details as they unfolded on twitter right before my eyes. I used to work for a company in Clarence Center. I love the people of this tight knit community and have always had a soft spot for them and flew in there regularly for many years.

I immediately learned via Twitter that Keith Burtis http://twitter.com/KeithBurtis was there when the plane crashed and heard it go down. Soon he was on Fox news talking with Julie Banderas from FOX news http://twitter.com/JulieBanderas She had discovered that he was an eyewitness via twitter immediately after he tweeted this. http://twitter.com/KeithBurtis/status/1205256171

I turned on fox news and saw this on the TV and shared it via twitpic to Twitter http://www.twitpic.com/1gnlu

My point in this blog post is to show an example of how Twitter is in fact a communication channel that people use for news discovery, sharing and adding value and changing the experience of this tragedy. I immediately relayed all info related to emergency efforts and helping the families. I wanted to help spread as much helpful information to as many people as possible quickly.

I immediately became immersed and went to find the exact location of the crash on street level view via asking people on twitter if they knew the location; and someone on twitter responded within minutes. The crash site was about 1.5 miles from a company I worked for many years ago. Click on the map and you can “drive” down the road where the plane crash occurred.

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I also discovered via Twitter that there was a flight recording from the air tower with the conversation that you can hear here: http://www.flightglobal.com/airspace/files/folders/27435/download.aspx

I also discovered via twitter a live stream from the local buffalo TV news station and still have it on at 2am pacific time. My life is changed by social media and how I communicate, share and experience events is forever changed. Additionally, it is yet another example of how the news business is leveraging the communication channel of Twitter to listen, discover and share. Social Communication Channels are not a fad. This one is here to stay.

In closing, my heart and prayers go out to the friends and families of loved ones that were lost. I still do not know if there is anyone I knew on the plane at this time. You can go to donate and help the families of this horrific tragedy on Kieth Burris Blog http://keithburtis.com

Twitter also allows me to share my favorite tweets that are related to the tragedy that I bookmarked here http://www.twitter.com/rumford/favorites