It’s been less than 3 hours since a bomb apparently exploded near the central business district of Metro Manila, capital of the Philippines.

At least two news reports of the event were available almost immediately. Friends and acquaintances shared them via IM, most probably Yahoo Messenger. That’s how I found out about everything.

Pictures of the carnage were uploaded on Multiply in just under two hours.

This is a lot different than what would’ve happened even as early as two years ago: Rumors passed around through text, without any conclusive reports or visuals until they roll off the newspaper presses for the next morning.

Now, on top of the developments mentioned above, I get to express my condolences to the dead, my good wishes to the injured, and a big middle finger to the ones responsible, all with a few taps on a keyboard and a click of the mouse.

Welcome to the Internet and social media, my motherland.