When news strikes, I go hunting for video. Just an old habit. I want to see for myself what it looked like.

So after yesterday’s 5.8 earthquake back on the East Coast I went to youtube, thinking that I might be able to see some rocking.

No such luck. What was there were myriads of folks posting what THEY felt and saw. I must have gone through dozens of “eyewitless” accounts ranging from “I’m okay” to “Hey we had an earthquake” to “I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

Oh – and the fake earthquake videos. Don’t even get me going. Why anyone would shoot something that is pretty obviously NOT an earthquake defies imagination. Right up there with Jackass movies.

Hint: in a real earthquake everything is moving – not just the guy in front of the camera. Shaking the camera doesn’t make it look real. Falling on the floor doesn’t make it look real.

In the end I found a few actualities. But I also probably wasted more time than I should have. So much for citizen journalists. (Don’t tell me what I know…show me what I missed.)

End of rant.