Twitter launches alerts for emergency broadcasts

Twitter has just launched Twitter Alerts, which the company is positioning like an emergency broadcast system of the social media age.

With Twitter Alerts, Twitter users can choose to receive special SMS text messages directly to their iPhones (you need iOS 5.10 or higher) or Android phones (running on Android 4.1.6 or higher) whenever there's a natural disaster, severe weather, nuclear accident, terrorist attack, major transportation disruption or other major emergency in their area.

"When news breaks about a weather or safety emergency, government agencies and emergency responders jump into action on the ground and on Twitter, delivering critical and timely information and engaging with constituents," Bridget Coyne, Twitter's partner manager for government and politics, wrote on a company blog.

Last year, Twitter in Japan launched Lifeline, which helped users there find emergency Twitter accounts during a crisis, and the company said it has been working on expanding that feature for the rest of the world.

If winning is a deodorant, as the oft-used sports adage says, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison was smelling a little better at Oracle OpenWorld on Wednesday after Oracle Team USA's America's Cup victory blunted the disappointment of the billionaire skipping out on scheduled appearances the day before.

Several thousand people had packed the Moscone Convention Center North Hall anticipating news about the company's cloud computing plans, and more than half left before Thomas Kurian, Oracle's executive vice president for product development, finished speaking in Ellison's stead.