It was Friday the 13th when the nearly 115,000-ton vessel transporting more than 4,000 passengers hit rocks off of Italy's west coast, partially submerging the cruise ship in freezing waters. As of Jan. 17, 11 bodies had been recovered, with reports of close to 20 passengers still unaccounted for.
With the search continuing for survivors and bodies, the social media world has been abuzz during and after the shipwreck, as survivors, family members, friends, reporters and the curious use Facebook, Twitter and other SM tools to gather and disseminate information.
One woman's Facebook post read, "My name is Rose, it's Friday 13th and I'm one of the last survivors still onboard the sinking cruise liner off the coast of Italy." She was eventually airlifted to safety.
In one Facebook forum, a woman noted that her cousin and niece were still among those missing, despite reports the two were airlifted out.
A Facebook page has been created that is serving as a venting forum for many individuals who are upset with the alleged actions of the ship's captain, Francesco Schettino.
Schettino, who was taken into custody by Italian authorities, is under investigation for manslaughter, abandoning his ship and undertaking actions leading to a shipwreck.
"Shame! To abandon the ship! Shame!," wrote one Facebook user, while others came together in a group to back Schettino.
Meantime, Twitter users were posting the most recent photos and videos of the vessel and tracking the latest efforts in the rescue.
A video of passengers waiting to be rescued last Friday, filmed by a passenger and posted on news sites and social networks, brought the online curious closer to the panic and trauma that many were feeling as the ship was sinking.
Such social media explosions of questions and comments following a tragedy or major world events should not come as a surprise in today's online-driven information age.
When a 7.0 earthquake ripped through Haiti in early 2010, some of the initial and more graphic images of the tragedy came to the world not through mainstream media but through YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
Social media also figured heavily into activism, as word spread around the world on different ways individuals could assist with disaster relief efforts.
During last year's uprisings for freedom in the Middle East, Twitter, Facebook and other social media venues were inundated with messages from Egypt and other nearby countries, as individuals spread the word of their efforts to topple regimes.
Lastly, one of the most famous usages of social media in the past year was by a Pakistani man who went on Twitter to tweet about events as American forces were taking out Osama bin Laden. While Sohaib Athar initially did not know what was unfolding, many in the social media community turned to follow him and his accounts of the dramatic action.
The bottom line is millions and millions of people are tied together through a similar communication method, bringing all of us a little closer each day.
Dave Thomas, who covers among other items background checks, writes extensively for Business.com, an online resource destination for businesses of all sizes to research, find, and compare the products and services they need to run their businesses.