Those interested in seeing how organizations - including governments, corporations, media and airlines -- responded in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001 Terrorist attacks, might find this sampling of online activity of interest. It should be noted (albeit obvious), that the online environment was considerably different then than now. Timelines are estimates. Then as now, the intent was neither to praise nor criticize any organizations' online response, but simply to capture events as they unfolded. Comments welcome.
September 11 Terrorist Attack on NYC | Digital Crisis Management
1. 9:56 am Brendan Hodgson, Senior Consultant, HK Netcoms (CANADA) Sept 14, 2001 1 hour after first plane hits WTC – all quiet
2. Brendan Hodgson, Senior Consultant, HK Netcoms (CANADA) Sept 14, 2001 10:00 am 1:15 after first plane hits WTC
3. Brendan Hodgson, Senior Consultant, HK Netcoms (CANADA) Sept 14, 2001 9:30 – 11:30 am US/CAN News sites are overloaded
4. 11:01 am Brendan Hodgson, Senior Consultant, HK Netcoms (CANADA) Sept 14, 2001 First reaction by airlines
5. 11:01 am Brendan Hodgson, Senior Consultant, HK Netcoms (CANADA) Sept 14, 2001 AMR hits the crisis shadow page
6. 11:15 am Brendan Hodgson, Senior Consultant, HK Netcoms (CANADA) Sept 14, 2001 United site still unchanged
7. 11:15 am Brendan Hodgson, Senior Consultant, HK Netcoms (CANADA) Sept 14, 2001 2 hrs 30 min after first plane hits WTC
8. 11:16 am Brendan Hodgson, Senior Consultant, HK Netcoms (CANADA) Sept 14, 2001 2 hrs 30 min after Bush’s Florida statement: no mention
9. 11:16 am Brendan Hodgson, Senior Consultant, HK Netcoms (CANADA) Sept 14, 2001 First AMR release posted
10. 11:19 am Brendan Hodgson, Senior Consultant, HK Netcoms (CANADA) Sept 14, 2001 UAL launches shadow site
11. Brendan Hodgson, Senior Consultant, HK Netcoms (CANADA) Sept 14, 2001 11:38 am First news portal is accessed (by me, anyway)
12. 11:47 am Brendan Hodgson, Senior Consultant, HK Netcoms (CANADA) Sept 14, 2001 UAL starts regular updates
13. 11:54 am Brendan Hodgson, Senior Consultant, HK Netcoms (CANADA) Sept 14, 2001 Finally able to access trimmed down CNN site
14. 12:11 pm Brendan Hodgson, Senior Consultant, HK Netcoms (CANADA) Sept 14, 2001 UAL issues second release
15. 1:11 pm Brendan Hodgson, Senior Consultant, HK Netcoms (CANADA) Sept 14, 2001 Eyewitness coverage moves over email. Of course, this is only one example
16. 1:14 pm Brendan Hodgson, Senior Consultant, HK Netcoms (CANADA) Sept 14, 2001 The competition weighs in
17. 1:15 pm Brendan Hodgson, Senior Consultant, HK Netcoms (CANADA) Sept 14, 2001 The White House acknowledges tragedy
18. 1:17 pm Brendan Hodgson, Senior Consultant, HK Netcoms (CANADA) Sept 14, 2001 News sites make WTC story exclusive
19. 1:19 pm Brendan Hodgson, Senior Consultant, HK Netcoms (CANADA) Sept 14, 2001 News sites acknowledge high traffic issues
20. 1:20 pm Brendan Hodgson, Senior Consultant, HK Netcoms (CANADA) Sept 14, 2001 UAL crisis site expands with fact sheets