10 Historical Events Affected by Social Media

That’s not to say they wouldn’t have happened. But if nonprofits then had been able to access the same technology resources we have today, perhaps the aftereffects of Hurricane Katrina wouldn’t have been so painstakingly slow and devastating. Families wouldn’t have waited nearly as long to be reunited after 9/11; not to mention, those who couldn’t turn to real-life support could have relied on digital communities. And today’s technology would have made it a lot easier to personally contact British friends as they mourned the loss of Princess Diana. Alas, we worked around the technological limitations of the time.

Today we turn to social media when an influential event occurs as a way to share our personal experiences and relate to the people most affected. It provides us with the reassurance that we’re not alone, but also gives us the opportunity to help.

Here are 10 moments in history affected by social media. How would social media have changed the outcome of other historical events? Let us know what you think in the comments.

1. Presidential Election 2008

Twitter had never existed in any campaign before the 2008 presidential election, where it was successfully integrated into President Obama's campaign. Although voting has traditionally been regarded as a private decision, millions took to social media to openly express their political approval or contempt.

2. Hudson River Water Landing

The Hudson River emergency landing was one of the most famous instances of reporting via Twitter. Onlooker Janis Krums probably wasn't anticipating he'd be the first to break the story when he snapped this shot with his phone. Nevertheless, he uploaded the photo to TwitPic while on the ferry to rescue the passengers.

3. Iran Election

After the election in Iran, Twitter became an integral content distribution tool for the Iran riots, whether through cries of opposition against candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi or updates about the violence taking place. The social network was so crucial to the people in Iran that Twitter rescheduled maintenance around the controversy.

4. Haiti Earthquake

After a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti, nonprofits used social media to mobilize rescue efforts and to support the community.

CrisisCamps was an organization created to bring together those who experienced the disaster and to organize relief efforts. The online community and activists created many different ways for concerned individuals to act immediately.

5. Chilean Miner Rescue

As soon as news broke of the Chilean miners' rescue, so did television and online records. Social media buzz peaked at approximately 104,000 tweets per hour.

6. Revolt in Egypt

When Internet, SMS and broadcast TV was unavailable in Egypt, the international community relied on journalists for real-time updates on Twitter and Facebook.

Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times posted detailed updates to his Facebook page, alongside others who made similar pages in solidarity of the movement.

7. 2011 T?hoku Earthquake and Tsunami

A record-setting 8.9 magnitude earthquake rocked Japan on Mar. 11, 2011. A disastrous tsunami soon followed, which prompted millions around the globe to scour social media for updates from loved ones.

On its Facebook page, Red Cross used the Causes application to raise over $25,000 toward relief efforts. Millions of people responded via Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and many other social media platforms.

8. Osama bin Laden

On May 1, 2011 Twitter exploded with the news of Osama bin Laden's death. Afterwards, the White House tweeted the news and President Barack Obama addressed the public.

9. Occupy Wall Street

It started with a YouTube video by hacker group Anonymous, later posted on the Occupy Wall Street Facebook. Within two days, traffic had reached critical mass.

Within 24 hours of the Sept. 16 Zuccotti Park occupation, roughly one in every 500 Twitter hashtags represented the movement, Reuters reported. By mid-October, Facebook listed 125 Occupy-related pages.

10. September 11, 2001

An Instagram gallery created by Chris Ackermann and Peter Ng allows users to share the stories they never got to tell in real time. The pair originally created Instacane in response to Hurricane Katrina, but they revived it this year, in time for 9/11's ten-year anniversary.