Editor 's note : Dina Mehta is an ethnographer , social media consultant and blogger based in Mumbai , India . Her personal blog is Conversations with Dina . She has contributed to building several communities on the Internet , such as Worldchanging , Tsunami Help , KatrinaHelp , SkypeJournal and Global Voices Online . Dina Mehta says social networks channeled the sadness and rage of the attacks into action . MUMBAI , India ( CNN ) -- I celebrated my 42nd birthday on November 26 . We were thinking of stepping out for a coffee at the Taj hotel that night when a friend called to say there was a terrorist attack in town . My first reaction was to switch on the TV and simultaneously go online to Twitter . There was a lot of confusion , anger and sadness as we witnessed together parts of our city go up in flames -- icons and symbols that stand for the Bombay I grew up in . I live about 8 kilometers from the scenes of the attacks . Many of us did n't sleep much that night . Some of us have worked together during disasters like the tsunamis and Hurricane Katrina , and we used our influence and experience to get the word out . Our updates and conversations on Twitter kept us connected . Twitter is a social tool where social networking meets blogging . Many have referred to it as microblogging , as each post -- or `` tweet '' -- you make is restricted to 140 characters . We did n't feel alone anymore or scared . Fellow tweeters worldwide were experiencing and sharing in our pain and our anger during the prolonged siege . The morning after , a friend and fellow blogger in the United States asked me how I was coping with it all . Her question was whether I found myself working it through intellectually or emotionally . My answer was that there was anger . Lots of it . And I was not alone in feeling it . Blogging and Twitter allowed me to channel this anger . We were busy trying to source authentic news and information around lists of injured and deceased , hospitals requiring blood , and helping folks abroad and in other cities in India connect with their friends and family . Some of the little things that touched me were people all over the world just volunteering time , love and attention through hugs and words of solace . One example : We had a list of injured people -- an illegible fax -- and after tweeting that we needed help transcribing it , we were flooded with offers to help from all over the world . Others abroad were busy proclaiming that they would run to India and not from it . Here are just a few of the tweets : . • I ca n't say do n't be sad , but do n't be overwhelmed with sadness . Know that there 's still more love than hate . • hugging you . There are more good and decent people in the world than hateful ones . Even if that 's hard to see today . • Overwhelmed by the kind and touching emails that my clients have sent since yesterday . All affirm faith in India and Indians . • I join you and all the brave people of India ! • from nyc , we pray for you and thank you for your courage in reporting to the rest of the world . it has greatly helped many . • Just feelings of solidarity with all of you in Mumbai . • We all are . . : ( # mumbai . • So sorry for you and your fellow peace loving Indians . • sadness is not the word but anger that should be vented out before we subside into our own daily life . These spontaneous responses bring home so strongly that what we are dealing with is not just Mumbai 's problem or India 's problem alone . This could never have happened without the social web . It is taking many new people forward on journeys that before they would n't have even contemplated . On Monday , a bunch of us met at Leopold Café , one of the sites attacked last week , and lighted some candles and had a beer . Many of us are being asked how people can contribute to help families affected , and today we meet with non-governmental organizations to try to work out how we can harness this amazing energy online into raising funds for those affected by the attacks in the short term . We 've been speaking to activist groups on different continents about how we could pool the community and our learnings to make a difference . The `` we '' I speak of is not an organization but a loosely joined community . We are bonded , and I truly believe that in the face of utter horror , wherever it might occur , we have a strong pillar in this emotional connection we feel as equal human beings and not in our narrow identities prescribed by nationality or religion or race or gender . This is an evolving revolution sparked by how people are using social tools on the Web . Of course , as with any social system , there will always be those who wish to perpetuate the politics of religion , of division and hate . We see this on the Web , too . The dilemma is , do we engage with them , and can we ? There is no doubt we are being violated in every way , by politics , by religion , by a complete breakdown of security . And yet , I find I do not want to have that discourse or feed these divisions . It feels like a violation of my own person . Leave that to the politicians . Let me act . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Dina Mehta .
Dina Mehta : Social media like Twitter became key point of contact and news . She says the Mumbai terror attacks led to sadness and rage . Mehta is a professor at Columbia University, New York City Comment She says concrete actions resulted from widespread use of social networks .