During the blackout of 2003 I was working in downtown Toronto.  When the power went out, we knew nothing.  I remember calling home to my partner Megan, and she mentioned that she’d heard from her parents that power was out along the eastern seaboard, but nobody really knew why.  Speculation was rampant.  We weren’t that far off from 9/11 and it wasn’t inconceivable that this was some kind of coordinated attack.  Remember, we knew nothing.  It was very difficult to get any kind of official news - it was just a mass of humanity walking north out of the downtown.

There was community on that day.  People directing traffic, handing out water, and just generally being good to one another, despite being total strangers.  I remember hearing Premier Eves (remember him?) on a shortwave radio as I walked by a cafe, but I didn’t feel terribly reassured. Making matters worse some of the bank towers were smoking, likely due to a power surge on their outside signage, but it just lent to a weird, scary vibe in the city.

I wasn’t in Toronto yesterday, but I sure noticed a big difference compared to 03’.  Mayor Miller was tweeting like a mad fiend, giving people updates and advice.  He even responded directly on the #darkTO hashtag to a dude who was calling him out for not being visible during the power outage. Thousands of Torontonians were also tweeting, and generally making each other feel better through humour, information, and just by making a connection.  Twitter was even one of CBC’s primary sources when reporting on the outage.  Sure, there were people directing traffic, handing out water, and being good to total strangers - but there seemed to be more information available at the finger tips.  Hell, most of the time I knew more than the on-air reporter on CBC thanks to my trusted ‘berry. Families and friends were able to connect instantly, and generally get through the situation together, even if they were on different ends of Yonge Street.

So please spare me the ‘Twitter is a fad,’ ‘there are no Twitter experts,’ ‘Twitter is so surface, not a real medium of communication,’ ‘cluck-clucking’ crap.  Sure we’re not exactly sure how Twitter, FourSquare, and SM applications that haven’t even been invented yet will impact our daily lives tomorrow, next week, or a year from now - same could have been said of TV, Rock and Roll, the radio, Hip-hop, and the pony express.  But I think it is pretty safe to assume SM can enhance all facets of community, from political discourse to just making a connection when you’re lonely.  The neat part is that we are still figuring this all out; and man, watch out for the social media pioneers who have the big ah-ha on how to harness it for politics, business, and culture. 

I’ve been an early adopter of many forms of social media because I work on a university campus.  I have to remain current to stay connected to the folks I serve every day. But yesterday, as I connected with friends, former co-workers, and total strangers getting through #darkTO, the light bulb really went off.  Yesterday proved to me that you can truly build community with these tools beyond the traditional demographic that we associate with social media.

Now we just need to figure out how harness these wild beasts for good.  I’m no expert, but now I’m truly a believer in the power at our finger tips.