Virginia Tech Massacre. Cho Seung-Hui speaks.

The madness continues. And the sheer weight of multimedia information available on the Internet also never ceases to amaze. As everyone knows - the shooter responsible for the Viginia Tech Massacre - Cho Seung-Hui sent a multimedia package (video, photo stills and documents) to NBC News before he went on his final rampage. With predictable speed, the package has hit the Internet. Multiple versions, some edited, some not.


I guess the moral question we all need to be asking here is... When is enough enough? How free should access to this information be? And can you imagine the trauma it must be causing people who:

a) knew him
b) were affected by the event
c) have lost friends/family in the event

I'm not sure either way, being a firm believer in the Googlesque view of access to information. And the citizen journalism on display is incredible, if not a little scary.

But. Wow. The image of Cho Seung-Hui wielding hammers and handguns is truly, truly frightening. And now... it's out there for every kid to see.

Interspersed with all the vids from CNN and NBC are true works of citizen journalism - "reply videos" with personal thoughts, attacks and prayers.


It really is a media circus of mammoth proportions...

What I do find a little odd - is the lack of coverage on the local South African circuit. Sure, satellite TV puts us in the backyard so to speak - but SA social media sites / blogs / forums don't really seem to have picked up the threads.

*12 results on Afrigator.com
*20 results on Amatomu.com

Do we care? Is it too American for us? Are we pissed off because 30 deaths in taxi violence don't make CNN?

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