ILOVERMONT!

As many of you know my hometown was ravaged by Hurricane Irene over the weekend. The State of Vermont was hit hard and the devastation is unthinkable. As I was out of the country when Irene hit- many people have called me "lucky" - but I simply feel hollow. I understand how logically someone might want to distance themselves from a natural disaster - but I would have liked nothing more than to have been with my family and friends during those dark hours and be there today helping to pick up the pieces of the State that I love. When I think about the distance between where I currently sit and all of my fellow Vermonters the feeling in my stomach is one less of luck and more of guilt.

That being said- I have been wracking my brain to find something positive about the situation- and here it is:

Thanks to Hurricane Irene I no longer have to struggle for an answer when someone asks me “What’s the point of being on Facebook?” I know many people who are social network skeptics and I must admit that every now and then I sway a little when it comes to my reasoning as to why I’m on such sites. After all, it’s been years since I’ve seen or spoken to at least half of the people I’m “friends” with online. But when Hurricane Irene hit my hometown of Quechee, VT, I was out of the country and had no way of knowing if my family and friends were safe or if my home was even still standing. The media, such as CNN, was focused on New York and the flooding in New Jersey while local Vermont online outlets were struggling to keep up as they themselves were dealing with issues of flooding, power outages and general safety concerns. The one outlet that was not struggling however was Facebook. Within minutes I had more information at my fingertips than I could have gathered from hours of on-line searches.

Even many of those without power were able to connect to Facebook using mobile devices to update their friends and family, as well as post photos and video of the devastation in their communities.

People were posting photos, videos, updates on road closings, and local shelter information before the severity of the hurricanes damage had even hit CNNs newsroom.

So although I haven’t been in touch with those hundred some-odd people on my Facebook “friends” list – I discovered that we all still have one thing in common- a sense of community, a sense of pride in our State, and a connection to our hometowns. For the first time I was truly grateful for social networking.

So the next time someone asks me “what’s the point being on Facebook” or any other social networking site- the answer is because despite all of it’s flaws, it proved to be the fastest, easiest and most up-to-date way to get information in an Emergency situation- and even from hundreds of miles away I was able to stay connected – which is after all – the whole point.

Photos below do not belong to me. They are a compilation from the Rutland Herold Facebook Page, WCAX Facebook Page, Burlington Free Press Facebook Page, and many other Facebook Friends.