Following the tragic shooting in Aurora, Colorado at the premiere of The Dark Knight Rises, user-driven content aggregate Reddit became a leading source of updates and information. The site offered a news timeline as well as condolences.\
The site launched a continuously and speedily updated comprehensive timeline of the tragic events, including a board of victim statuses and their current hospitals. TechCrunch reports that it was "quite possibly the quickest way to get essential news for those needing information on potential victims (more informative than the government websites and local news channels)."
A few victims of the shooting also used Reddit as a means to spread information or to open up about the events in Aurora. One man posted photos of his gunshot wound, and a woman posted "Someone came into our theater at the midnight release of Dark Knight Rises and began opening fire. Who here on Reddit can help me calm my nerves?" which opened conversations between her and other Reddit users. Some of these were also victims looking to speak with someone.
She followed the post with the words, "Thank you for the well wishes everyone. Heart is still racing."
The board, though, seemed to be one of the most useful aspects of Reddit's response. It allowed friends and family to know what hospitals the injured were brought to in real time, something no news organization seemed able to do.
Via TechCrunch
