clipped from seattlepi.nwsource.com

CHICAGO -- Horrible, real-world happenings are unfolding almost simultaneously in the virtual world, as Virginia Tech students and people from all over the world gather online to grieve and vent.

From blogging to cell phone video, technology has forever changed the way we process and communicate about tragedy - in good ways, and perhaps bad.

Almost immediately after Monday's deadly shootings, Virginia Tech students created an "I'm OK" page on Facebook to let one another and their loved ones know that they survived. Other students posted photos and cell phone video on their own sites, or shared it just hours after the shootings with news organizations.

There are myriad other ways the Internet continues to shape the grieving process.

In addition to using the university's Web site to communicate with the world, Virginia Tech officials planned to set up a site where families of the victims could post photos.