Overview
As I scroll through the 2644 posts in my time slot (Nov. 18th, 8 a.m.-9 a.m.), I am really surprised by the similarity of the posts. Many mention something about the two OSU coaches. Very few mention the other two people lost in the crash even though one of the pilots was a former state senator. However, I understand why. The coaches had a much greater impact on our current society than the senator and his wife. The sheer amount of mentions is overwhelming. I expected to see several mentions from the main media outlets but I still am fascinated by other forms on online media. Forums, blogs, websites, personal pages and more all give their thoughts and perspectives on this tragedy. While I did not see any person I knew, I followed the majority of the OSU sites and even found some more to follow through this search.
All the various OSU sites commented on the event several times. These mentions were also the more shared but I would expect this. The public would expect OSU to have the most updated and accurate information. I love how connected OSU is with their students. Every group seemed to mention the crash. Another common post was the OSU crash ten years ago. It is very hard to believe that OSU has suffered so much loss related to planes. I wouldn’t have the guts to fly after so many accidents but I guess it’s important to overcome your fears.
Specific Content
1. This is the first mention I had in the time slot that I selected. I was very surprised by this post! I know from personal experience that people who fly small planes are very close to one another. This forum takes the pilot perspective. While many of them were upset by what happened, the majority of posts discuss what might have gone wrong and what pilots can do in occurrences like this one. I never really thought about the pilot community so this was very interesting to read.
a. “I just saw this on Yahoo and didn't see this anywhere on A.Net - Very sad. RIP for all souls involved. http://news.yahoo.com/okla-st-womens...die-ark-plane-crash-142844897.html”
2. This next post caught my eye because it was first post to mention the names of the coaches. I think it’s important to remember who they were, not just what they did.
a. “Kurt Budke, Miranda Serna remembered fondly by women’s basketball community … – New York Daily News
3. This was the first post I saw not related to the OSU plane crash. It’s a video discussing the Black Ops video game. I’m not surprised that this was mentioned. My boyfriend is addicted to this game and he’s always searching for videos on YouTube.
a.
4. Another post that I was intrigued with was this tweet by WinklerEYE. He is in the sports business but instead of retweeting what everyone else was saying, he posted a personal experience. This really makes me reflect on the personal effects of the plane crash. Most people mention OSU entirely. There are very few posts that even mention the women’s basketball team. Reading how someone was personally affected tugs at my heart.
a. “When I was in Monroe & he was at #LaTech, Kurt Budke was one of the 1st coaches I ever covered in this business. Wow. #OkState #Budke”
5. I really appreciate posts from OU fans like MikeIke171. Even though we have a strong rivalry with them, there are still several posts from their fans. Most people in Oklahoma really do try to pull together in a crisis.
6. It took from post 671 to 1121 for someone to post something generic that actually mentions the other two people in the crash. Several news stations state that there were six killed (inaccurate information) but they always include the two coaches. I like this post because I feel like its pure sincere concern. Thanks to AZSteve72.
a. “Omg there was a plane crash in Arkansas this morning that took the lives of 4 people. May god give strength to their families”
7. The last post on my list was the posted by WZZM, which is an ABC news station. They were very generic, as most news stations were in their posts about the crash. I appreciate them sharing the news but it’s nothing special.
a. Oklahoma State coaches die in plane crash http://dlvr.it/wf6b3
Google
The first thing that came up when I googled was an article by the NY Times. It was a very good article with a lot of information. They even mentioned the previous crash and who the deceased were survived by.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/19/sports/ncaabasketball/oklahoma-state-coaches-die-in-plane-crash.html
Flickr
The first picture that came up on this site was posted by OSU Communications. There were several pictures of the memorial that came up along with these.
YouTube
I did not even have to type in the full phrase when I was searching on YouTube. The video that came up was the one posted by the Associated Press and it’s been viewed 4,579 times since November 18. I appreciate news on YouTube but I prefer to view the videos posted by students over news stations.
This was the first video posted by a person and it happened to be an OU fan.
Review
Tragic events happen all over the world every day but when something happens close to home, a tragedy is much more than a tragedy. This plane crash effected more than the sports teams at OSU. The OSU coaches touched students, alumni, friends and of course family. To see over 20,000 posts about their death is humbling. I loved watching the girls’ basketball team and I enjoyed seeing the two coaches interact with one another. However, I never thought about the impact they had on the nation. I believe our society is full of selfishness. It’s hard for people to focus on anything but what is going on in their own lives. When events like this one happen, it forces people to think about someone else. That is what truly amazed me in reading all of these posts. So many people, even if they just re-tweeted a post, were genuinely concerned about OSU and the families of the deceased. If this dreadful event didn’t teach me anything else, I realized I’m proud to be an OSU Cowboy because we care about one another. We pull together through sadness and happiness.
