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In so many ways, the Internet grew up five years ago today. While television delivered the images of the attacks of Sept. 11, the Internet connected the globe in millions of conversations in ways that had not occurred before.
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 People looked for the missing and used the Web to reassure families of their safety.

People comforted, shared, commiserated and cried together -- online. Wherewereyou.org is a collection of more than 2,000 first-person accounts from everyday people sharing where they were and what they were doing when they heard about the attacks. The Web served this connective function so well on that day.

Legacy.com has a site that drew more than four million visitors and 150,000 guest-book entries from people who had something to say about the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001.

SonicMemorial.org is an online "open" archive of audio recordings from Sept. 11, 2001. The collection includes more than 1,000 contributions, including voice messages people left on each other's phones that day, checking up to see that others were OK.

Here is a collection of more than 250 screen shots of news Web sites taken on Sept. 11 and 12, 2001.

Navigation options:
Groups of six, with the ability to browse backwards and forward in time
One by one, in full-screen mode. Again with the option to go forward or backward in time.
Search by publication, country or time
This might be a day to think about how we, in journalism, use the Web in times of crisis. How might our coverage be different today than it was five years ago?

The Library of Congress, in partnership with the Internet Archive, WebArchivist.org and the Pew Internet & American Life Project, has created an astonishing collection of digital materials known as the Sept. 11 Web Archive.

The archive's overview page explains:

The Sept. 11 Web Archive preserves the web expressions of individuals, groups, the press and institutions in the United States and from around the world in the aftermath of the attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.

The Web Archive is important because it contributes to the historical record, capturing information that could otherwise be lost. With the growing role of the Web as an influential medium, records of historic events could be considered incomplete without materials that were "born digital" and never printed on paper.

The Sept. 11 Web Archive consists of [more than] 30,000 selected Web sites archived from Sept. 11, 2001 through Dec. 1, 2001.

You can find Poynter's coverage of Sept. 11, 2001 and terrorism, along with other resources, here.

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The Newspaper Covers

I can't remember a time when I found the front pages of newspapers as interesting as I did on Sept. 12, 2001. Poynter published a book about the newspaper fronts from Sept. 11, 2001. Here is its collection of fronts from around America and around the world. You can find more at September11News.com:

U.S. papers: Main
U.S. papers: A through D
U.S. papers: E through M
U.S. paper: N through S
U.S. papers: T through Z
World papers: Main
World papers: A through L
World papers: M through Z
U.K. newspapers
Magazine covers

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Living Memorials

In September 2002, the number of "Living Memorials" registered with the USDA Forest Service skyrocketed. The feds have mapped the 599 sites, which are located in all 50 states, as well as France, Israel, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia. Fifty-seven have not yet been built.

Living memorials include parks, green spaces and other quiet places. While Americans once built big stone monuments or bronze statues, living memorials have become popular ways to memorialize the dead.

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The Number 11

I've always thought the fascination with the number 11 was interesting. September11News.com pulled together a collection of the most-often cited "11 mysteries"

The date of the attack: 9/11 -- 9 + 1 + 1 = 11.

Sept. 11 has 9 letters and 2 numbers: 9+2=11.

The number 911 is the telephone number for emergencies in North America.

Sept. 11 is the 254th day of the year: 2 + 5 + 4 = 11. [...]

The first plane to hit the towers was American Airlines Flight 11.

The Flight 11 call letters were AA11: A=1, A=1, AA=11.

Four of the hijackers on flight AA11 have the initials A. A. for their names: AA=11.

The fifth AA11 hijacker was the pilot, Mohamed Atta, 11 letters, and AA in last name.

Flight AA11 had 92 people on board -- 9 + 2 = 11.

Flight AA11 had 11 crew members -- 2 pilots and 9 flight attendants.

The target of Flight AA11 was in New York City -- 11 letters.

The State of New York was the 11th State added to the Union.

Manhattan Island was discovered on Sept. 11, 1609 by Henry Hudson -- 11 letters.

Trade Center is 11 letters, and Skyscrapers is 11 letters.

World Trade Center Towers is 22 letters -- 2 x 11 =22.

The WTC Twin Towers, standing side by side, look like the number 11.

The WTC towers are each 110 stories high.

The first WTC tower hit (North Tower) collapses at 10:28 A.M. -- 1+2+8=11.

The first fire unit to arrive to the WTC towers was FDNY Unit 1. Unit 1 lost 11 firemen. [...]

On Sept. 7, 2002, NYC medical examiners announced the revised official
death toll from the World Trade Center attacks was 2,801 -- (2+8+0+1 = 11).

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2002, the names of 2,801 victims were read at a Ground Zero ceremony. It took 2-1/2 hours to read all the names.[...]

Flight 77 [had] 65 [people] on board -- 6 + 5 = 11 [...]

The Pentagon [has] 11 letters

Afghanistan [has] 11 letters

Of course, we have to point out other numerical coincidences.

Nostradamus also has 11 letters. There cannot be a disaster without a linkage to him.

And, "That's absurd " also has 11 letters.

I'm just sayin'. (Oops -- 11 letters again.)

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We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.

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Editor's Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends upon the accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors and inaccuracies found will be corrected.

More in this series:
9/8/2006 3:20:46 PM: Sept. 11 Anniversary: Story Ideas

9/11/2006 12:31:07 AM: Sept. 11, 2001: The Day the Web Grew Up

9/12/2006 1:28:20 PM: Narrating the Recent Past: Docu- or -Drama?

9/10/2006 10:18:57 AM: ABC Docudrama Blog Bombs

9/11/2006 1:20:17 PM: 9/11 Resources: Then and Now

9/11/2006 1:20:42 PM: Five Years On: Tracking the Coverage

9/11/2006 12:38:35 PM: The last few minutes, but not the last word...

9/11/2006 12:37:37 PM: How Multimedia and Interactivity Can Help

9/11/2006 12:32:36 PM: Through the Eyes (and Words) of Children

9/7/2006 7:27:36 AM: The People and the Photos

9/14/2006 10:31:55 AM: News Defined as Personal Stories

9/13/2006 2:42:46 PM: Proud to Be a Newspaper Writer:
Roy's Writing Tools

9/14/2006 10:30:04 AM: The Power of Storytelling

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