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Last week, I wrote an article on the role of Twitter during the Mumbai Terror Attacks that was published in NewsCorp’s Australian news website, news.com.au (on the front page at the time!). It started off with an editor from the website getting in touch with me (through a feedback email address listed on this very site) regarding the Twitter marathon I was on at the time. Here is the text of the article:

#mumbai: three days as a Twitter journalist

LAST Thursday’s terrorist attack in Mumbai in which more than 180 people were killed was a watershed moment for citizen journalism. City residents published minute-by-minute updates to the internet using social media platforms like Twitter, providing the latest facts along with local detail and context as the atrocity unfolded. Major news outlets could not match the detail and pace of their reporting. Aditya Sengupta, a 21-year-old Mumbai student, was one of them. Here, he reflects on the attack and the role of citizen journalists in the event.

I had just gotten home from a very long day at college and was going through my recent emails and social network updates when I saw a couple of very shocking messages.

A quick search through the web and a couple of frenzied phone calls confirmed the start of what was going to be one of the bloodiest and most horrific days in Mumbai’s history.

One of the most interesting things to have emerged from last week’s terror attacks in Mumbai is the significant role played by social media in the coverage of the tragedy – particularly the micro-blogging website Twitter.

While chaotic, disorganised and unverified, Twitter provided fast and helpful updates to the carnage that was underway in the heart of the city.

Updates started appearing on Twitter several minutes before those on local news channels and roughly an hour before they did on CNN and BBC, with Twitter users speculating about loud blasts emanating from various places in and around Colaba, South Mumbai.

Reports of gunshots at several places soon followed, sparking speculation of a clash between gangs and police. Subsequent updates about grenade attacks, fires and hostage situations at other locations made it clear that this was no gang war.

Because of the nature of Twitter, updates were passed on by “retweeting” them – reposting someone else’s update and, ideally, giving credit to the original author. Because of this the information was spread far and wide very fast indeed.

After the initial incredulity and shock, and after the news channels had well and truly caught on, a lot of speculation and guesswork gave way to more accurate updates, largely sourced from various local news channels.

Several constructive actions and initiatives were taken by Twitter users, such as publicising the descriptions of one of the terrorists, the cars that they were said to have carjacked and the fact that they had even carjacked a police vehicle.

Other useful information such as links to video streams of local news channels and lists of important phone numbers (helplines, embassies and consulates) were quickly posted and disseminated.

The human face of Twitter took on another dimension when local users offered to try and call the friends and family of foreigners. What started on Twitter eventually grew into the Mumbai Help blog. I remember trying to call the phone numbers that a commenter on the blog said belonged to Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg. They were eventually found dead at Nariman House (Mumbai Chabad House).

Scans of the lists of dead and injured obtained by a blogger were sent to and posted on the Mumbai Help blog. A request for help on Twitter resulted in the images being transcribed into searchable text and republished. Calls for donations of specific types of blood were also posted and widely retweeted.

In a very short while, several websites and blogs collated much of the information on Twitter, the mainstream media and other websites to create pages that served to be real-time compendiums of information – such as those at Pinstorm, my own website Vignetting Life and of course, Mumbai Help.

Twitter users, photographers and bloggers Vinu Ranganathan and Arun Shanbhag posted several first hand photographs of the event, which were eventually used widely by the mainstream media.

As the hours wore by, the importance of attribution of one’s source of news for each tweet became clear when rumours started spreading through the micro-blogging site. One particular rumour spread very far – that the terrorists may have been accessing the internet and the Indian Government had asked Twitter users to stop reporting.

The appearance of the tweet on the BBC website added to the confusion, since a number of Twitter users cited the same BBC article as a source of their information, creating something of a circular reference. Subsequent rumours were quenched quickly, with Twitter users correcting other Twitter users and providing references.

The truth to the speculation as to whether Twitter was actually used as a source of information by the terrorists remains to be seen. Most Twitter users sourced a majority of their tweets providing information about the siege from the mainstream media and by retweeting others who had sourced their posts from the mainstream media. Furthermore, many Twitter users showed a substantial amount of restraint regarding operational details and troop positions, despite the fact that such details were broadcast on some news channels.

While the primary source of information on Twitter about the Mumbai attacks, the #mumbai search, had a substantial amount of redundant, unusable and irrelevant information, it nonetheless provided for a lot of important updates and clarifications. While Twitter might not necessarily be a reliable source of information, it sure is a quick and useful one.

One reason I put the help page on my blog and started going on a Twitter “marathon” was because of the desire to use the resources at my disposal in the most productive manner I could.

Another reason is the fact that I used to study about 10-15 minutes away from most of the attack sites back in junior college. Most of them are places I have been to and have some familiarity with. I would regularly frequent the British Council library which is pretty much in between the major attack sites.

Most of my updates regarding the attacks were sourced from several mainstream media channels and from other Twitter users I trust.

[original location]

It was originally meant to be an article for the Technology section. So you can imagine my surprise when I received a flurry of messages saying that my article was on the front page of the website. I was in college at the time and knew that it would not stay there for long. So I asked my friend Kushagra to get a screenshot of the page for posterity’s sake:

Headline, Observations »

Final Edit 00:20 Nov 30

Please note that the following post applies to an event that is currently underway, and may not be updated. This post may be modified as time passes. Visit http://twitter.com/Sengupta for the latest updates:

edit 14:35, Nov 28: NSG head: Both terrorists at the Oberoi/Trident have been killed. Oberoi/Trident under army control.

Pranab Mukherjee, External Affairs Minister: Elements from Pakistan responsible for Mumbai Terror Attack. Proof cannot be disclosed. New Delhi is expected to take this up with Islamabad. The mobile phone captured from the terrorist indicates calls from Karachi. via TimesNow.

edit 11:10, Nov 28: Excerpts from the press interview by Lt. Gen. Thamburaj: One terrorist is moving between two floors of the Taj Heritage building- has shut off electricity to the Dance floor, two terrorists killed yesterday evening in a firefight, almost all the guests and staff have been evacuated. Possible that this this terrorist has 2 or more hostages, or that there may be 2 terrorists. Some of the hotel guests may have locked themselves in. We’re not blowing opening the doors even after having identified ourselves, for their own safety. The NSG commandos have suffered some casualties. I’m not in a position to elaborate on the casualties (fatal or nonfatal). Operations had to be deliberate and slow as the lives of the hostages were at risk. Don’t want to suffer casualties because of a hurry. Cooperation from the Police, Air Force and Navy. First people to respond were the MarCos- Marine Commandos. Able to put together an ad hoc Crisis Management Center, coordinated by Gen. Sisodiya and Gen. Hooda. Media role commendable. Should be able to wrap up things in a few hours

It’s been about 8 20 24 35 odd hours (as of this post) since a huge siege of Mumbai began, with gunmen ripping through several iconic targets in the heart of the city. Details are sketchy coming out right now, but from what I’ve been able to gather from several news sources (primarily the CNN-IBN and NDTV news channels), the sites that have been hit are:

The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower (Persistent shootings, grenade (and possibly RDX) explosions, fires on a number of floors and a hostage situation)

The Oberoi/Trident Hotel (Shootings, explosions, fire and hostage situation)

Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus/Victoria Terminal (The final Train station/headquarters of the Central and Harbour railway lines in Mumbai)(Shootings, explosions)

Nariman House (a Chabad house owned by Chabad Lubavitch an orthodox Jewish movement) (Persistent shootings, explosions, hostage situation)

Cama Hospital (Hostage situation, gun-shots)

Petrol Pump in South Mumbai (Grenade explosion)

Leopold Cafe (Heavy gunshots)

Metro Cinema (Shootings from carjacked police jeep)

South Mumbai Police Headquarters (Shootings)

Vile Parle (Explosion in car)

Mazgaon Docks (Explosion)

Several other possible situations were reported at a number of locations like Napean Sea Road, Borivali and Santa Cruz. As of the final edit, these situations have not been substantiated, but are widely believed to have been rumours.

More than 80 125 160 individuals were reported to have been killed, and over 250 327 injured. ATS Chief Hemant Karkare, encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar and ACP of Police, Ashok Kamte were reported to have been killed, along with several other high ranking policemen. NSG personnel are reported to have been killed as well.

A terrorist outfit called the Deccan Mujahideen is reported to have claimed responsibility. edit: “Intercepts show terrorists speaking in Punjabi,” GoC- Army, via NDTV

Westerners, primarily Americans and Britishers are said to have been the primary targets during this siege. They were apparently rounded up from their rooms at the hotels listed above and held hostage. The status of the hostage situation, as of this post is not yet known.

The terrorists have had hijacked a police vehicle and one or more civilian vehicles and have not been apprehended yet. Indiscriminate firing was reported from these vehicles.

Some important contact details: via Pinstorm’s guide, Mumbai Help, Mumbai Police and Twitter

Hospitals:

St. George Hospital: (022) 22820242
J J Hospital: (022) 23735555,
Bombay Hospital: (022) 22067676 extn 216
K.E.M.Hospital: (022) 24137517
G.T. Hospital: (022) 22630553

Blood Donations:

J J Hospital Blood Bank: (022) 23739400
Cama Hospital Blood Bank : 022) 22611648
St. George Hospital Blood Bank: (022) 22620344, 22620242

For Foreigners:

Canadians:
Foreign Affairs: 1-613-996-8885 from Canada, 1-800-387-3124 from elsewhere

USA:
Help line number US: State Department number” 888.407.4747 Foreign Affairs: 1-613-996-8885

United Kingdom:
Forgeign Office Emergency Telephone Number - 0207 00 800 00.

Brazilians:
Brazilian help line +919820686143 (C)

Australians:
In Mumbai1800 002 214
International +61 2 6261 3305

France, Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Ministère des affaires étrangères
+ 33 (0) 1 45 55 80 00

Nationals of all European Union countries who need assistance in Mumbai can go to the consulate of any of the 27 Member States to receive assistance, announced European ministers in Brussels. (via Briskette’s comment below. Original source here)

Other embassies and consulates in India: http://www.embassiesabroad.com/embassies-in/India

Hotel Helplines (via Twitter):

Taj Hotel: 1800-111-825
(022) 66574322
(022) 66574372
(022) 6665 3366

Trident Hotel: (022) 23890606 (20), 1800 11 2122, International numbers

Oberoi Hotel: (022) 23890606, (022) 23890505

Other Helplines:

Police Control Room: 100
Fire Brigade Control Room: 101
Railway Police Control Room: (022) 23081725, (022) 23007476
Naval Control Room (022) 22663030
Intelligency Bureau Control Room (022) 26522631, (022)26520055

Some thoughts:

One of the most interesting things to note has been the speed at which information has been spread using social media sites, particularly the micro-blogging site, Twitter. You can find my updates here: http://twitter.com/sengupta. Updates on Twitter appeared over an hour before it CNN began covering it. More thoughts on this later.

Useful Links:

Lists of dead and injured (scroll down to find a sortable list embedded in this page). Final Edit: Please note that this list is the one that was initially posted by n to Mumbai Help:

Page 1
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Page 5

Final Edit: Here are the latest lists of deceased and injured.

To find what people are currently saying about the issue, this might be a good place to begin: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=mumbai

Another useful source of information might be: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/26_November_2008_Mumbai_attacks

Pictures from the site: http://flickr.com/photos/vinu

Arun Shanbag has been posting pictures as well: http://arunshanbhag.com/2008/11/26/mumbai-blasts-taj-is-burning/

Map of attack sites (via Wikipedia):

Sortable list of dead and injured:(via Mumbai Help)

List of evacuees from the Trident/Oberoi (via CNN-IBN)

Please feel free to add details and make corrections in the comments section.

Headline, Technology/Science »

Here’s what you can do with a cellphone with a good camera, a telescope stand and a bluetooth connection:

Featured, Observations »

I was reading this article over at Slashdot about Chandrayaan-1, India’s moon mission which is scheduled to be launched next month. I was going through the comments when I came across a familiar one-

First they ignore you…

then they laugh at you…

then they fight you …

then you win …

This is a very famous quote attributed to Mohandas Gandhi. I first came across this quote in a Red Hat presentation I attended a while ago. They started off with this video, something that’s stuck with me for a while now-

(If you’re reading this in a feed aggregator, you might need to click through to read be able to see the video)