Facebook may love US Airways hero Sullenberger even more than Twitter does

January 16, 2009 | Eric Eldon | Comments | |

The successful crash-landing of crippled U.S. Airways flight 1549 yesterday by Captain C.B. “Sully” Sullenberger is one of the most uplifting stories of the new year — and social media sites have been part of the story. A Twitter user may have gotten the best picture immediately following the incident, and Twitter users haven’t stopped talking about it since. But more than a dozen Facebook groups and fan pages have also sprung up to adulate Sullenberger.

Facebook said there were 75,000 fans so far spread across the site, not counting the many other conversations that Facebook users are having about the incident within their profile pages and news feeds. This fan page, for example, has added around 7,000 fans in the last hour I’ve been watching it. Although that Sullenberger page is surely getting a boost because it’s the favorite page of Facebook’s own fan page (see above).

That’s not meta, that’s social media cross-promotion in action. Seriously, who’s not inspired by the story — after a flock of birds destroyed the plane’s engines, Sullenberger successfully navigated it to a crash-landing on the Hudson River, saving everyone on board. Cable television shows are talking about the story non-stop but users can’t do more than watch the anchors talk. Sites like Twitter and Facebook let them share their own feelings. In an era of corrupt politicians and small-minded business leaders, this display of heroism — and the conversations around it — helps bring everyone closer together. As Twitter user jimformation puts it: “If we all did our jobs as competently & professionally as Chesley B. Sullenberger III did, the economy wouldn’t been in the mess it is now.”

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About the Author, Eric Eldon

Eric currently covers digital media technology and business news, especially what's happening on social networks and their platforms. He also writes and edits stories about venture capital, and lots of other stuff, too. He started at VentureBeat in the spring of 2007, half a year or so after Matt Marshall left his reporting job at the San Jose Mercury News to found the site. Eric previously cofounded a startup called Writewith, that was building editorial software for newspapers and other groups of writers. The startup didn't work out, but he learned a lot.

  • Thank you for useful information. It was interesting to read.
  • You are most welcome.
  • treet007
    Too bad the first officer (co-pilot) and flight attendants are forgotten among all this news media frenzy. It takes a team effort with a good leader, but the leader cannot do it alone.
  • Todd Beardsley
    I like hearing stories like these. It's nice to hear some good news once and a while. I think that it's great that so many people are chatting about it, he's a genuine hero and should be recognized as one.
  • It's the same love that we are talking about here. An extension of the love if you like.

    The news and photo was posted on TwitterTwitpic then sometime later the Facebook fan page was set up which gained popularity after Pete Cashmore @mashable tweeted about being a fan of Sully on Facebook.

    It's not that Facebook loves Sully more than Twitter, it just broke on Twitter, like everything these days, then was expanded on Facebook....

    Facebook or Friendfeed etc are places we can discuss Tweets further, create fan pages, set up a debate etc.

    We are one but we are many.... One love, one world...

    Please don't say one loves 'X' better than the other.