Social media vital during blackout

At around 8pm, the news started spreading like wild fire on Twitter and Facebook. People in the affected provinces used their mobile phones to file posts about being plunged into darkness.
Reporters – some getting briefed by their friends and family on the phone – confirmed information that the 14 provinces in the South had no electricity. Reporters in the mainstream media also sought updates and photographs of the situation via social media. They checked the facts before reporting what authorities said, as some statements were conflicting.
Residents reported when the lights came back on. Some social media users criticised the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand and the energy minister. Some referred to Thailand’s major blackouts in history.
@jitkasame said: “Twitter is the hero in all situations – blackouts, floods, charter changes, reconciliation.”
@Kitti3miti: “Tweeting 4-5 minutes later is okay for the accuracy of the information.”
Deputy police chief Pansiri Prapawat said officers also used LINE to communicate with those in the blackout areas and elsewhere in the country.
“Previously, whenever there was a blackout, there was usually a problem in communicating, but during the last blackout we used LINE,” he said.
Pol Colonel Pot Suaysuwan, deputy commander of Pattani district police, confirmed that LINE was a great help.
“The day the blackout hit, each officer received orders via LINE,” he said. “All measures and procedures were perfectly carried out.”
Pol Captain Jomdet Trimek said that as the prices of smart phones had started falling, most cops had turned to using chat applications, especially LINE which is free and through which you can send pictures and videos.
LINE has good features. The police chief can list those who need to receive commands and those who don’t. Also LINE is two-way communication. Subordinates can report back to their supervisors, he said.
However, it is possible for confidential information to be leaked if outsiders are accidentally included in the group.
Pot said police could not depend on social media if the cellular network crashed. The officers would have to use their walkie-talkie instead.