As I sat here contemplating this blog, Christchurch experienced its most violent aftershock.

Since Saturday morning’s earthquake, we’ve had over 150 aftershocks – some as strong as magnitude 5.5. Another website puts the aftershocks in the 300s. But it was this morning’s 5.1 that I would say was the scariest. It was sharp and assured – like a house going over judder bars or a dozen heavy trucks – too heavy to be on the road – hitting your building one after another.

It struck at 7.49am, and our flat had not long said goodbye to my brother-in-law who was cycling to work. We told him to ‘be careful out there’. Of course our first reaction, after hovering under a door frame together in a frantic panic, was to call him. Relief came once we finally got through to him but the phoneline got cut just as he said he’d been thrown off his bike on Moorhouse Ave and I could hear in the background someone saying to him ‘are you alright, mate?’  The longest ten minutes of our life came as we tried to get through to him again, and my sister had decided she was going to drive and find him – but her car wouldn’t start. This is where I should explain that my car was totaled in Saturday’s quake by our next door neighbours chimney, so I too had been relying on their car to get around.

My car after Saturday’s quake…

Once we finally established contact with him, and the rest of our family, we immediately turned to Facebook and Twitter to see how everyone else fared. Some had been in the shower at the time, others threatened to leave town if it continues. But what is it about social networking now that makes us instinctively turn there when something happens?

I can only answer from a personal point-of-view in regard to the quake, as I’d rather speak from my perspective than research what academics might say. For me it’s the immediacy of social networking that I like because I can instantly see how everyone else is, where they are and what they were doing at the time; I want to see if anyone or anything has endured more damage; and I want to share my experience with everyone as they do with their other Facebook pals too.

Not longer after the quake on Saturday morning I was called in to cover the natural disaster for Newstalk ZB. It was definitely all hands on deck for such a big event. It was a full on weekend, but a truly humbling experience seeing all the damage around town. It turns out the damage to my car pales hugely in significance to what was out there beyond my home.

Here’s some pictures captured by my flatmate, Danny Knight-Baré, on Saturday:

Twitter was also a flurry of activity after the quake. I of course tweeted about what we’d just experienced, and as we were out exploring the city streets I was called by a Twitter ‘follower’ who works at the radio station Life FM in Auckland to do a live cross from the scene.

During that one, and others later for Newstalk, I experienced several aftershocks as I spoke live on air. Rather scary when you have to keep talking, but it just goes to show that us journos are in fact human after all and feel the same way as everyone else in a natural disaster. My tweeting about the quake also alerted media outlets in the UK, as per a tweet from a former colleague from London:

Because Twitter is an open forum, anyone can send you tweets, so getting messages from people you don’t know internationally in an event like this is truly meaningful:

Get ready for your streamlined business page – that’s the latest call from Facebook.

A notification box on business pages says, “Starting on 23 August, we’ll be simplifying your page to make it easier to browse:

1) Boxes are going away, including the Boxes tab; and

2) All custom tabs will be narrowed to 520 pixels. If you have a custom tab, we recommend that you visit your tab now for a preview of how your content fits in the new layout — please make adjustments as needed. The rest of Facebook will see the old tab width until 23 August.”

Profile and Page Roadmap Update – Facebook says, “We announced plans last October to remove application boxes and application info sections as well as reduce the width of application tabs to optimize for the new profile and Facebook Pages format. We will be moving forward with these changes the week of August 23 and want to help you understand what to expect.

“Based on feedback from developers, we have committed to the following plans to ensure a smooth transition:
* Boxes. We will notify users via messaging in profile boxes and in the Help Center that the “Boxes” tab, boxes on profiles and Pages, and application info sections will be going away.
* Application Tabs. Next week, we will give Page admins the ability to preview their custom tabs in the new 520 pixel width so they can modify their layouts as needed. All profile and Page tabs will be resized automatically beginning the week of August 23.

“These updates are designed to simplify navigation for users, reduce complexity for developers, and enable us to build the next generation of tools for growing your business with Facebook. Subscribe to the developer blog to learn about our new roadmap in the coming weeks.”

Fran, a Platform product marketing manager at Facebook, is busy updating the roadmap.

Using Tandem’s wide experience in new media has seen the creation of the website www.inthehouse.co.nz for the New Zealand Clerk of the House.

This website is the first in the world to present each individual speaker within Parliament’s debating chamber – online in searchable segments offering the chance to view, share and comment on that speaker using a mix of website, and social media such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

Tandem created the concept, built the site and manages the site from its Christchurch studios. This has meant the employment of one full-time and three part-time employees. The website users an In The House YouTube channel which is regularly in the top 10 most-viewed YouTube channels in New Zealand and occasional as high as No 2. In fact, many members of parliament – including John Key, Bill English, Annette King – list the In The House website as one of their ‘likes’ on their Facebook pages.

This project was a major goal and achievement through 2009 and will see the forms and template for the site offered to other parliaments, city councils and large companies as a communication system for them and their key stakeholders.

Here’s a couple of high-ranking, high-hitting videos on our site:
This is a question from Hon David Parker to the Minister of Energy and Resources – Has he received my invitation dated 14 December to accompany me, after Parliament rises, on the Gillespie Pass tramping circuit in the north-eastern parts of the Mount Aspiring National Park, so that he can inspect first-hand areas in the conservation estate included in his stock-take of mineral resources, and will he accept it?

And, a motion without notice – Trevor Mallard congratulating Steven Joyce on his academic career:

An interesting blog at Mashable asks whether Facebook can make people instantly connect. Ori Brafman says with all the news about Facebook’s never-ending privacy problems and the exodus of angry users, has the real story been overlooked?

Specifically, is Facebook limiting people’s ability to actually, well, connect? Ori has done some research into the things that make people connect instantly.

He says, “From meeting someone at a work party to that special spark on a first date, instant connections aren’t just intense; they can have a substantial effect on the overall tenor of the ensuing relationship. Research has shown that teams that click tend to work more effectively together and couples that had love at first sight are more passionate with each other even after twenty years.”

Ori says that Facebook indeed does foster some of these connections, but there are specific factors, or accelerators, that trigger such connections. Read the whole mashable.com blog here.

Serena is leaving What Now? so they’re looking for a new host – and one of the finalists is using social networking to help spread the word.

Christchurch-based Cassie Baker started the group on Facebook just two days ago, and already she has almost 200 followers.

“I started it so that my Facebook friends with children could join and support me,” Cassie said from a primary school she was just about to perform at.

Cassie’s been touring around the country with The Duffy Theatre – along with her friends Greydon and Rob – on Duffy’s Big OE. Through her work in primary schools, she is also spreading the word about being in the final top six for the presenting role. “I’m always thinking of other ways, other than the internet, to spread the word, so I’ve been physically telling the kids to vote for me too,” she laughs.

Hundreds of people from around New Zealand have applied for the role, but there can be only one that fills Serena’s shoes.

She’s unsure which week she’ll be trying the role of presenter out – so stay tuned, and in the meantime, you can follow her group on Facebook – Cassie Baker in the TOP 6 to fill Serena’s shoes on What Now!

Are you interested in the future of Facebook and the path Facebook is taking to get there?

Check out this F8 presentation by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg:

Head of platform products at Facebook, Bret Taylor, joins the discussion in this video:

Have you tried the latest interactive offering from Facebook?

Where once you could use the ‘search box’ to look for a friend or a group you belonged to, you can now use it to ask other Facebook users a question. Any question so it would seem.

If a friend posts a question you might know the answer to, or could offer some suggestions, click on the question and go for your life!

Here are some suggested guidelines in answering the questions from the team at Facebook:
- Try to provide as much detail in your answer as you can.
- Your answer will be sent to (your friend), and will be published in your News Feed.
- If someone else has already answered the question correctly, upvote their answer instead of writing a new one.

What’s more, on the same page you can click through questions from other friends and try and answer their questions too. Have fun!

Click here to head to Facebook