Caught in a National Disaster? Twitter May Save Your Life.

Like many, we were Twitter skeptics at first. "Who on earth would ever use this?" we thought a year or so ago, when the micro-blogging service was winding its way through the word-of-mouth (and -blog) channels. But now, given the site's major role in the presidential campaign, its history of freeing jailed Americans abroad, and even its ability to facilitate public safety during a national disaster, we're convinced: Twitter is freakin' brilliant, and may change the way we communicate on a global scale. ABC News writer Ki Mae Heussner reports that New Orleans natives and other hardy souls who faced off with Gustav were Twittering up a, er, storm, sending messages about evacuations and shelters, letting friends and family members know their location, and reporting on storm conditions as they watched them. The Red Cross also made good use of the service, sending Tweets about evacuation and available shelters to ...