I’ve just packed for the social media conference in Florida and threw my shirt with ‘I Get My News on Twitter’ on it in the bag. It is often a good conversation started.

I’ve been thinking about this a bit over the past few days as I’ve followed what is going on in Japan via tweets. Various topics have trended, with Fukushima often on the list, accompanied by Godzilla and Pearl Harbor. The Godzilla and Pearl Harbor topics have been gotten plenty of complaints. Is it really appropriate to talk about Godzilla during a nuclear emergency in Japan? Can anyone in their right mind talk about one of the worst earthquakes in recorded history as appropriate payback for Pearl Harbor?

As an aside, the best Godzilla comment I saw was that if you want Godzilla backwards, he repairs a half destroyed burning city and then moonwalks into the ocean.

There have been a lot of tweets about Fukushima. Reading the tweets and various article and websites linked to the tweets, it seems like there are a lot of people presenting different viewpoints reflecting their own views as opposed to what is going on. Some talk about how it isn’t really a big issue. Others point to the coverup of a nuclear accident several years ago and wonder what is being covered up now.

There have been pictures and videos posted of the powerplants and maps of what could happen if radiation is spread.

It is a stark reminder about how fragile we all are, especially when confronted by a large natural disaster.

Yeah, I get my news via twitter, but I also very carefully check my sources.