Jakarta hotel blasts: How to use Twitter to get more info on breaking news

I was on my way to a dinner picnic at the beach when I checked my e-mail on my iPhone and found Los Angeles Times Breaking News “Bombs explode at 2 hotels in Indonesian capital” in my inbox. I read the article from my phone and could have accessed Twitter updates if I wanted to. I chose to wait until after dinner. The way in which news spreads with Twitter these days is so much faster than it even did a year ago; it can make your head spin trying to keep up. Here’s a quick how-to on following breaking news if you’re new to the Twitter game.

1. The Los Angeles Times makes it easy for you to follow breaking news. On the home page you’ll find the latest news story with a link to the most heated Twitter thread –- so you don’t have to go hunting for the “hashtag” that is being used for the topic.

2. See if the brands involved are on Twitter. The two hotels in the blasts were the Ritz-Carlton and J.W. Marriott in Jakarta, Indonesia. Both hotels are on Twitter. The Marriott Twitter account (@MarriottIntl) had been tweeting about the incident since a little after 7 p.m. They replied to tweets saying:

“To all who have tweeted, we are gathering info and will have more as we learn details from Jakarta.”

“We are monitoring the situation, working closely w/authorities to ensure that our guests and associates are moved to safety.”

“Our deepest sympathies go out to the victims and their families.”

“We are currently working to assemble a list of employees and registered guests staying in the hotels.”

The tweets came well before the public statement on Bill Marriott’s blog, “Marriott on the Move”  — which was the long form of the previous Tweets.

When I checked Ritz-Carlton President Simon F. Cooper’s Twitter account (@SimonFCooper) just before 9 p.m., there was no mention of the attack, but I direct-messaged their other account @RitzCarltonPR and got an immediate message back saying they would issue a statement shortly. This statement followed a few minutes later:

“At approximately 7:48 a.m. local time, explosions occurred at the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia. Police responded immediately and sealed off the area. Guests at both hotels have been evacuated. The guests have been moved to a secure location. We are monitoring the situation and are working closely with the authorities. Our deepest sympathies go out to the victims and their families. As always, the safety and security of our guests and associates is a high priority.”

3. Use Twitter Search. For this tragic news, I used the search function to look for tweets that mentioned “Jakarta OR Indonesia“. But Twitter Search also told me that Ritz-Carlton and Ritz Carlton were also hot on search.

4. Look for TwitPics. Sometimes you can find photos straight from the scene before a media outlet gets a hold of them. Remember that amazing photo from the man on the ferry boat the day of the Hudson U.S. Airways crash? And just recently we found a TwitPic from the inside of the Southwest Airlines flight that landed due to a hole in the fuselage. In today’s news, I was able to find a photo of the Ritz Carlton as re-tweeted from @kaniaadhalia, and more photos from @wortje. Another Twitterer @dregar was supposed to be staying at the Marriott but they were full and moved him to the Ritz. This photo was taken from the 11th floor of the Ritz shortly after the blast and tweeted from his account.

5. Read the tweets with not a grain but a big lump of salt. I sponge up the info, but don’t take too seriously important information such as death counts from personal Twitter accounts or over-enthusiastic re-tweets. I look for well respected mainstream news sources, locals who are on the scene and anything that stands apart from the same news being passed around.

– Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger

[Photo: Police officers inspect the damage at the Marriott hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia. Credit: Dita Alangkara / Associated Press]

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This entry was posted on Thursday, July 16, 2009 at 11:02 pm by Jen Leo and is filed under Hotels, News, Tips & Advice, Pacific & Australia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.