Live Blogging in a Crisis

JULIA Post

People across the globe have been holding their breath this past week as news of the attacks in Mumbai took over their local papers and computer screens.  There have been multitudes of gripping accounts, and bloggers in India have shared their own first-hand stories.

One example was Mr. Arun Shanbhag, a teacher at Harvard Medical School, who was visiting his parents in Mumbai when the attacks began.  Mr. Shanbhag maintained a blog as events unfolded, posting personally taken photographs and linked to photo-sharing site Flickr.  

He even supplemented his online commentary with messages on Twitter:

• “Mumbai Blasts:  Taj Hotel is a block from my house!  Hostages still inside; still burning; smoke is pouring from windows; pics later.”
• “Front of our building is staging area for Fire Engines”

In times of tragedy, bloggers have become an important source of information, visual representation, and, most importantly, tellers of stories that bring both pain and hope to readers around the world.

Here’s a list of other bloggers in India who provided live commentary.