Communication Overtones Comments
I was a freshman at Kent State University. I was brushing my teeth in my dorm room, watching CNN before heading to class. I had to spit out the window...I wasn't walking back down the hall to the bathroom. Thanks for remembering today...
@kaitswanson
I remember I was getting ready for one of my first college classes. I got out of the shower and my brother came running and said that America was under attack.
I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for that day. It created my political-lens view of the world. It was also one of the reasons I chose political science for my BA.
On Sept. 11, 2001, and the following days, I didn't do anything all the different than the rest of the nation. I was at work, and we started to huddle around the TV in the kitchen as the events unfolded. We were all in disbelief.
My memory came later in October prior to a client meeting. Earlier, in June, we had a hugely successful news conference for that client for a new product launch. The news conference was at Windows on the World at the WTC complex.
I learned at that meeting that, if we were not able to get all aspects of the news conference completed (kits, VNR, etc.) done in time, it would've been rescheduled to 9-11. (Skipping July and August due to heavy vacation and drop in media readership/viewership during those months.)
The thought that I could've been there is with me every day.
- Mike
Mike; Wow, that gives new meaning to a deadline. I am so glad you made yours and are here with us today.
Michael; Interesting that it changed your viewpoint, in what way?
Kait; I don't think many people moved from their TVs that day. I was spurred to action only by proximity.
Kami,
I just wrote a blog post--coincidentally--answering your very question.
I was on my way to the office (I had an office then) when I heard of the first plane. It was reported as a small commuter plane. I was listening to a long-time local radio personality, Ricky Wier, who flew small planes. He immediately said it had to be a MUCH larger plane.
It turns out he was correct, and the second plane hit before I arrive at the office, even though it was only ten minutes from my home.
We had a TV/VCR at the office we used for training - but no antenna or cable. We turned it on and heard some audio and saw very little video. One of my employees went to a Radio Shack and bouht some rabbit ears - suddenly we saw what we had only heard - the towers coming down, the Pentagon. The second plane attacking.
I worked for a global company then - I had employees in The Netherlands and Taiwan. Even though our US offices shut down early, and everyone was allowed to go home I fielded hundreds of emails and IMs expressing regret, outrage and compassion from people all over the world - employees, co-workers, vendors and even customers .
The world seemed much smaller to me on that day. It still feels small to me today.
I can still see Route 9 and the dashboard of my car when I think of this very moment.
Nice idea for a post Kami.
It was the darnedest thing. Remember, for New Zealanders, this happened on September 12. I switched off the TV about 45 minutes prior to the first attack because it was a quiet news day and went to sleep. I dreamed about Americans watching TV, flicking through every channel. On every channel was the same item of news. I didn’t see what it was. My friend Edward called that morning, around 6.30 a.m., and woke me up to fill me in. It was the first day of the Wellington Fashion Festival, I had a team at New York Fashion Week, too, and no one was in any mood to party.
Rob; How small it is indeed.
Susan; It is the "Kennedy" of our time.
Jack; How wild that your subconscious knew something was up.
Sorry for the late response. I was on vacation last week.
As for 9/11, I was in NYC that morning, but uptown. It was such a beautiful day. I was heading to LA that afternoon. When the doorman at my mom's apartment told me that a plane had crashed in the world trade center, I ran upstairs and watched the news unfold.
It was only later that day that the wind shifted, and you could smell the smoke for the first time. Other than that, there was very little evidence of the tragedy downtown.
Needless to say, the flight was cancelled. I returned on Sunday aboard a very empty flight. I got home at 3:00. I was my cab driver's first fare. He had been waiting for a passenger for 8 hours.
I remember being in an art class in highschool and we just happened to have the TV turned on when the breaking news came up.
I also wanted to comment about Twitter. In my PR Style and Design class, my teacher showed us the Twitter website as another new way to network.
I have to be honest when I say that I didn't really understand the point of it until i read this blog post. I didn't understand why people wouldn't just write a full blog because their comments are so short sometimes I don't know what they are referring to.
However, I thought the way you utilized Twitter was so great! What a neat way to get several short responses from everyone in your network, when you're not asking for a full story but rather just a simple answer.
I was waking up on my couch, Good Morning America was on. I called my newspaper-editor husband-to-be and told him his week had just gotten a lot harder. I called my mom and sister and told them to turn on the TV and watch history. Took a shower and went to work (newspaper copy desk). Was there nearly 24 hours.
Commenting by HaloScan
