CNN iReport

Gone are the days of shake, rattle and roll as the recent 5.4 magnitude earthquake in Los Angeles proved that the new mantra of our times might better be stated as: Quake, Twitter and Roll.

In our new online and socially connected world, it seems the micro-bloggers won the race on reporting the news. This iReport will feature some impressive charts and statistics that tracked the entire phenomena; yes, it was the quake that shook the Twittosphere.

We all have our ways of keeping in touch with the news and events of the day, from those that follow CosmosGAL http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-53202 to those following CNN or the Associated Press (AP).  But the most impressive news-wire of July 29th as Californians were hit by an earthquake was none of the above; rather it was the personal news-wire-like powers of Twitter.

For those of you that have been living under a rock or your attention has been stolen away by Iraq, Twitter is a social networking micro-blogging communication tool that is somewhat akin to reality TV, only in TEXT format pushing out by web, email and mobile phone.  It's the new way that young and old alike connect, filling in the gaps between email, phone and blogs...  yes, that in-between time where reality and life occurs! Why is Twitter so popular? Simple...  it's simple.  All posts are 140 characters or less. And no, I'm not associated with Twitter, just a big fan (@dhollings).

On July 29th, within seconds, Twitter lit up like a roman candle as this linked chart on Twitter's blog shows: http://is.gd/196i 

According to the official Twitter blog, It took approximately 4 minutes before official news began to emerge about the quake. Finally, some 9 minutes later, news agencies got their feed from a news wire service such as the Associated Press http://is.gd/196O

It's fascinating to review some of the ACTUAL Tweets (posts) made on Twitter. Here is a site that pulled the actual Twitter feed at the very moment of the earthquake: http://is.gd/197g ( Warning: in the midst of an earthquake, some folks don't filter their language as they post)

Finally, this linked graph: http://is.gd/197v shows vividly the timeline of the 1st tweets - yes, Holy Twit, it was Quake, Twitter and Roll.

View Dan Hollings' iReport, "The Secret of How I Became Mr. Universe at 50" at: http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-54250