I had just learned about a site called U-Stream when this happened in Japan. It was horrifying to watch that tsunami devastate everything in it's path, live.

One Japanese guy was on U-Stream broadcasting when it hit. He was near one of the prefecture's that received some damage, but not the one up North that took the brunt of the quake and tsunami. He was obviously shaken, as was his viewers, but he re-composed himself and fired up several laptops in his makeshift "studio."

Thousands of people began tuning into his stream and he instantly became a "reporter" on what was happening. People, from all over the world, were able to use social media sites to "pass on" the information he began broadcasting. Within a few minutes, Twitter was trending the quake news and also his link to U-Stream for the latest updates from him.

NHK (News Corp Japan) was also started streaming from U-Stream as well.

The Japan earthquake made me realize just how powerful the internet and social media sites have become for real-time news and world events.

When the opportunity came to donate to the Red Cross for Japan, I thought of that Japanese guy and was glad to assist them with what I could. I stayed tuned into his stream for several hours that night and he did a fantastic job as an instant "reporter."

He ended up broadcasting for several days following the earthquake with little sleep. I'm sure he helped many people in Japan as well as around the world with his broadcasts back then.

Thanks for the video Mario.

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