Transported Through Time with Twitter

For me, last month was a real interesting step back in time.  I became fascinated and intrigued by all the Titanic hype.  Yes I admit that it was I that arranged a girls' night out to go and re-watch the movie (again) in 3D.  Which, if you don't mind 3D effects did add some extra (pardon the pun) depth to the movie.

More so I got wrapped up in watching numerous documentaries about not only the voyage, but also the possible climate implications, at the time of the voyage, that led up to and perhaps sealed the fate of the ship.  I watched episodes showing how master craftsmen of the time would have worked with the tools at hand to produce everything from the lavish decor, to the simplest cabins, to the modern devices and mechanics that made this ship so spectacular for it's time.  I also watched James Cameron and a team of experts discuss and explore what really happened from the moment of impact at the surface to the moment of impact at the bottom of the ocean floor.  To see some of that new animated footage brought new light to the incidents that happened that evening.  

More intriguing from a television perspective, was one show that covered the people that were involved.  It covered many of the characters that we have come to know.  How they came to be on the ship, their involvement as staff of the ship, and what became them and their families after.  People like: Captain Edward John Smith (Titanic), John Hume (Orchestra Member), Captain Stanley Lord (SS California), Colonel John Jacob Astor & Mrs. Madeline Talmage Astor (1st Class Passengers).

I know many of us have now lived though several amazing and incredible world events lately all through Twitter.  More people found out globally and quicker than the "news" could provide the information, that Obama had become president.  Think back to the Japan Tsunami.  How fast did the world learn of this disaster through twitter? Family used Twitter as their only communication to find out if loved ones were safe.  It's no doubt what an important communication tool it has become, but something about reading the Titanic Voyage tweets on April 14th really got to me.

I began following this account sporadically when it first set up, but as the fateful, historic night drew near, I began to keep a closer eye on what was being posted.  I was being transported back through time.  I was reading and virtually experiencing all of the events of April 14, 1912 from the perspective of 2220+ passengers.  A first class passenger describes the morning as:

Captain Smith reports on his communication with the SS Noordam:

A third class passenger let's us know that their luxuries are of no comparison to the first class:

Engineers and Crew occasionally give us glimpses into the running of the ship"

That all aside, what I found the most profound were the tweets coming in from @TitanicRealTime 100 years to the minute, post disaster.

As the day of tweets begins, one comes to realize that many of them are as true as the day they were first experienced.  Real perspectives, from real people.  Words, thoughts and actions captured from journals, logs, eye witnesses and then redistributed 100 years later mirroring everything minute by minute.


The effect of the tweets became engrossing, heart wrenching, and eventually almost unspeakable.  It was if as by reading them you were reliving the entire day and night.  Not from one perspective but from many; first class, 3rd class, crew, engineering, the captain, and even near by ships.



So if you didn't experience this tweeting event this is probably all sounding very much like what someone would say if they were reading a book.  Read a book, any book, about the Titanic and you're going to get the same experience and perspectives. You'll say this is true for any historic account.  But what about TIME?



Here's what really, and I mean really got to me that night.  Not only was I reading these tweets (yes like one might a book), and not only was I immersed in my own imagination of the imagery being presented (yes like one might in a book), but there was an aspect of time going by as the events were unfolding.


You couldn't just jump pages ahead to see what was going to happen next.  You couldn't read something like, "It was mid-afternoon. Mr. White was to arrive at 4:00pm and we were all very excited to see him.  When he arrived...."  That small statement there has me as a reader, trying to imagine that it's the middle of the day and late afternoon all at once.


As the Titanic tweets were being presented they were presented at the same time the actually occurred and it created an effect that had you waiting to see when the next one would occur and what would it say.  How much more of the story would be shared?  It is very hard to imagine this, because as I soon as I try to explain this in text I'm losing the effect and am in fact mirroring that which occurs in a book.  However, that night, the reading of the tweets came in like this (EST):


5:15pm
#passenger I've noticed the engines running faster than at any other time during the trip – no doubt they want to beat Olympic's record.

then an hour later:

6:15pm

#passenger I was just climbing into my top berth to read when I noticed the ship vibrating much more than usual. Is this normal?

As the reader...I now wait and wait and wait to find out....Is it actually normal?  There is no flipping the page, starting a new chapter.  You had to actually physically wait to see what was to happen next.

6:35pm

#crew Keeping a sharp lookout but no icebergs at all on our current route. Visibility is becoming more of an issue however…

6:39pm

#officer 3 gongs coming from the lookout and a report on the telephone – Iceberg Right Ahead. Hard-a-starboard!!

Over the next several hours, a flurry of tweets start pouring in from the #crew, #officer, #passenger, #engineering, the #captain, even the #bandmaster. At some points they came in quickly as the passenger and crew confusion mounted. As the reader you also felt anxious, nervous and confused.  

The actual magical element of the Timeline, that Twitter provided, as a part of the overall account, did not truly impact me until the final moments of the event.  

At 9:17pm I read  "#BoatNo1 All the lights have now dimmed, pure darkness. Only screams can be heard…"  Then 3 minutes later I read: "#BoatNo1 She is gone…The unsinkable ship….Lost in the depths….All around check their watches 2.20a.m. – exactly."

Tweet after tweet came in for hours to then 6 minutes waiting for the next tweet, seemed too long.  #officer No one knows what to say or do. Some sit quietly, others weep, some are inconsolable. I can barely believe it…

Four more minutes of waiting.....

#firstclass Those poor souls floating in the ice cold water, I want to pull them into the boat but others resist. Why?

Then 11 minutes of waiting.....

#firstclass The ocean is awash with screaming people and bodies – it is an unimaginable sight.

14 minutes of waiting.....

#officer Burning green pyrotechnic lights in my lifeboat. My hands are so cold I can barely hold the flame. Someone must see us…

Only 4 tweets then occurred between 9:55pm and 11:00pm.  Sixty-five minutes of waiting.  Checking.  Refreshing the screen.  Looking to see what happened next.  How long did they wait for someone to find them? Who would find them?  

As the reader you ACTUALLY HAD TO WAIT, just as long as the real characters of this event HAD TO WAIT to come to the conclusion.

11:00pm
#Carpathia We have reached Titanic's location but the ship is gone. How could this have happened?

As an observer to this event, Twitter gave the Titanic story the appreciation of how quickly everything occurred and also how long it took for help to arrive.  The element of TIME coupled with various perspectives of the events that occurred created an entirely new dimension that history books and teachers at the front of classes can not convey.  Being immersed into the situation, in this respect, gave a greater appreciation of the events as they "truly" happened.

Thinking back to my history classes I would have loved to have experienced those lessons in this manner.  I most likely would have been more intrigued and excited to learn about them.  Granted the main Titanic events focused on one evening, but there was much buildup to the launch.  I wonder if a teacher or historical society such as that which posted out this Titanic Voyage, could perhaps do this kind of "reenactment" with any other events.  Could you find something that could be, for the most part, covered within a month of school or a semester of school?  Or could you cover and tweet out in real time at least a portion of an event?  Obviously Twitter isn't the only means by which could be done, but it gives rises to the idea that more historical accounts could become better understood by added in the factor of REAL TIME to them.

I'd be happy to hear from anyone else that followed the TitanicRealTime tweets or your thoughts on the ideas within this (long) post.