As news spread of the blasts at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday afternoon, people in the area reported that phone lines were down and cell phone calls could not get through. However, smartphones enabled some to send text messages and update social media accounts.
People took to social media sites like Twitter and Instagram to notify loved ones that they were OK. Others were using Twitter as a tool to reach out and ask those in the area to post updates.
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Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency tweeted, "if you are trying to reach friends or family and can't get through via phone, try texing instead (less bandwidth)"
Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley, who was running the marathon, tweeted, "I'm ok. about 20k of us in corral just before mi 26. marker. @chelsa ok too."
Boston Police are also using social media to solicit potential clues as to what happened, and posted on Twitter: "Boston Police looking for video of the finish line #tweetfromthebeat."
This story originally appeared as "Boston Marathon: With no phones, text and social media help get out updates" on CBSNews.com.
Read status updates via social media below.
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