It's possible that some East Coast residents may have if they were far enough away from the epicenter. That's due to the way the shock waves travel.
The struck central Virginia on Tuesday afternoon, prompting people from New York to North Carolina, and as far west as Michigan and Illinois to ask, "Did you feel that?"
As of 3:45pm ET Tuesday, the was the second most talked about subject worldwide on Twitter; that and the were the top trending topics in some of the cities most affected, which including Washington, D.C., New York, and Philadelphia.
Twitter could have been one of the few ways those affected could get through in the minutes following the quake: MSNBC reported that Verizon Wireless suffered heavy congestion on its East Coast network, and anecdotally I can report that AT&T calls from time to time failed to connect.
Text messaging worked like a charm, though, and is the recommended method of communication according to wireless industry group CTIA.
"In these high volume instances, there can be delays," spokesperson Amy Storey told PCWorld. "We encourage people to send text messages and emails to contact their loved ones until volume returns to normal." Storey says knows of no major infrastructure damage
It was crazy, though.
I am located in Reading, Pa., and I sure did. I was actually in contact with a PCWorld editor talking about the news of the day when my home office began to shake. It was just like the earthquakes you hear about in California: a slow rolling motion that builds in intensity, then slowly stops. Yes, I ran for a doorway.
The shaking seemed to last about 30 to 45 seconds. Given that it hit a so-called "megalopolis," the social media networks lit up like a Christmas tree. Facebook walls speeded into overdrive, and Twitter became awash with reports of the experiences of those affected.
Twitter could have been one of the few ways those affected could get through in the minutes following the quake: MSNBC reported that Verizon Wireless suffered heavy congestion on its East Coast network, and anecdotally I can report that AT&T calls from time to time failed to connect.
Text messaging worked like a charm, though, and is the recommended method of communication according to wireless industry group CTIA.
"In these high volume instances, there can be delays," spokesperson Amy Storey told PCWorld. "We encourage people to send text messages and emails to contact their loved ones until volume returns to normal." Storey says knows of no major infrastructure damage.
Above and beyond the obvious spike in communication, social media is also helping scientists to better understand the quake. For several years now, the U.S. Geological Survey has been using a platform called "Did You Feel It?" which anecdotal reports from the Internet on earthquake events.
If you indeed felt it, head on over to and tell them what you felt. The reports are used to develop a broader picture of the severity of quakes and aid in the agency's research, it says. Even if you didn't feel Tuesday's tremblor, I suggest you check it out--it's pretty stunning how far away people felt the earth move.
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