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Social Media hurricane: ABC News affiliate interviews Designated Editor’s Suzanne McDonald

ABC News affiliate interviews Designated Editor’s Suzanne McDonald on Hurricane Irene’s impact on social media and smartphones


ABC6 Anchor John DeLuca interviewed Suzanne McDonald, Founder and President of Designated Editor about social media and smartphone usage while some 370,000 Rhode Islanders struggled with no power 4 days after Hurricane Irene hit.

Social Media Helps Rhode Islanders Stay Informed

ABC6:  Tweets. Status updates. As Hurricane Irene plowed her way up the East Coast, social media was used in full force. The storm provided some of the best examples yet of the emerging role of social media. Joining us now live in studio to talk more about that role is Suzanne McDonald, president of Designated Editor. Suzanne, thanks for joining us.

Suzanne McDonald: Thanks for having me.

ABC6: Really a shining moment for social media, as people who lost power were able to use their smartphones to get up-to-date information on what’s happening.

Suzanne McDonald: Absolutely. The key of social media really is a smartphone when you are without power, as so many Rhode Islanders and people in southern New England are. The great thing about social media is it allows very local real-time information.

ABC6: Do you think this will help some people start to discover that it’s not some “evil thing,” and it’s not so hard, it’s not so difficult? And maybe this’ll start to encourage more people who are older, who are reluctant to get involved with it?

Suzanne McDonald: I would say so. Obviously I have a different perspective than older people, but for myself, during the storm on Sunday morning, I was able to log on to Twitter and check to see that there was a possibility for tornado activity in Newport County. And that was really crucial to know even before I did anything else, like turn on the radio or TV. I had to have that information, which was very important for me to know and was direct to my area.

ABC6: So you really see things mushrooming, maybe, because of the storm, or just overall?

Suzanne McDonald: I think so. You see a lot of people online using Twitter and Facebook just to keep in touch. It was a great way to let friends and family who live farther away know that you were OK, that there was no loss of life or major damage, especially on Facebook.

ABC6: You mention Facebook, and a lot of people look at that and say, “that’s not for me,” but as you saw, the role of social media in this case with the storm, it really did provide a great service. More than just a social gathering.

Suzanne McDonald: I think it also played a great role in keeping people sustained in all the difficult times. Now that people have been without power for a long time, to be able to post updates, letting people know “I have power” or “I don’t have power,” “come to my house, take a shower.” It’s been a great tool for people.

ABC6: It really has. Alright, Suzanne McDonald, unfortunately, we’re
out of time. Thank you so much for joining us today. We appreciate it.

Suzanne McDonald: Thank you.

More on post-Hurricane Irene sentiment in Rhode Island: Anger rises at Hurricane Irene power outages

About Suzanne McDonald

Former Boston Globe journalist, New Media Education Expert, founder of Designated Editor: Teaching individuals, educators & companies how to create influential interactions & eliminate social media insanity.

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