Susan Powell has been missing now since December 7th, it has been eighteen days now. A very original social media blitz will begin tomorrow, on Monday, January 4th. It is a concerted attempt to find Susan’s whereabouts through the internet. Every resource of technology available to man will be utilized. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, and emails will come in play.
This is a first for a missing person’s case. Authorities are saying that the internet will be more effective in locating Susan Powell than any of our traditional media outlets. The reason for this is that young people use the internet to get their news, not television broadcast news, like we use to do in my day.
Chris Jones from KUTV in Salt Lake City has said in an interview that media coverage of the case has been dwindling. Chris is the reporter who got pivotal, initial ‘Navy Blue Cap’ interview with Joshua Powell. The ‘fading of developments’ in this missing person’s case will stop on Monday at 8:00 AM. The social media blitz will commence then and continue for 72 hours, until Wednesday at 9:00 AM.
People everywhere should send out at least five emails to friends and family. These emails should include links to significant conduits of information. As many of the photos of Susan Powell need to hit eyes from all around our globe. Two of the main conduits are: the Facebook group, Friends and Family of Susan Powell and one group just called Susan Powell.
I joined both groups yesterday. The group Friends and Family of Susan Powell has 12,500 members so far. They would like to double that. This group is more discrete and not a forum for discussing the particulars of the case. The other group, Susan Powell, is more of an open forum. It has Leslie Bleak as the creator and currently has 1,624 members.
You can post any theories you want to here (FB Susan Powell group), no restrictions. Both groups are good. Both serve a purpose. But one is tethered to formality and restraint, appropriately sensitive to the feelings of the family, while the other is helpful as a think tank, a ‘Sherlock Holmes Forum’ that can reveal some ‘luminescent brainstorms.’ This way we have our best minds in the country all working together to solve this most puzzling case.
I received a comment from Susan’s good friend, Kiirsi Branham Hellewell, on Friends and Family of Susan Powell. I have never met Kiirsi in my life, but I have seen her interviewed so frequently on TV, that I feel like I’ve known her all of my life. I linked an article of mine and here is what Kiirsi said:
“Thank you, John, for covering Susan’s story. I have full faith and confidence in the police and believe they are doing a spectacular job. The waiting is so hard… we just have to be patient and keep Susan’s face out there.” (Facebook-1/2/2010 4:04 PM)
I am optimistic about this new approach, the use of every imaginable outlet of the media to crack the case. That’s not to say that I am so optimistic about the possibility of finding Susan Powell still alive. Sorry for that, but it’s just how I feel.
But these new social media tools will spread Susan’s image like wildfire. Reporters are calling it: ‘to go viral.’ It’s somewhat like Jesus dividing the loaves and fish to the poor. It divides and multiplies.
The images will go from hundreds to thousands, then to millions of people all over the world. This will create a pressure vacuum that will blow the lid wide open on the case. This could be good or bad, depending on how people, the media, the ‘person of interest,’ or the police react to this new phenomenon.
We’ve never experienced anything like this, so prepare yourself for the experience! It is a global, communal experience that is all about extolling Susan Powell, showing her as a ‘real person’ who didn’t deserve her fate! I best leave it alone, because people are anxious and volatile with this case. Egos need be left at home. I’m shedding mine as I type, it’s gone.
Send an email to: [email protected] if you would like to take an active role in this ‘campaign.’ Also, you may want to join the two Facebook groups. You can see any new developments on these sites. News coverage, YouTube videos, comments, etc. “She could be anywhere, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.” (Kiirsi Hellewell) The ensuing social media blitz is our last, best hope.
Peace & Love, John
