As Hurricane Sandy gathers steam, social media lovers may be wondering how to stay connected during the storm, especially since many use Twitter to keep an eye on breaking news alerts.  Techies, take heart: here's how to keep tweeting, even if you lose access to the Internet.  Turn your cell phone into a Twitter hub to both post your own tweets and monitor what others are saying by texting START to 40404.  You'll get a text message back from 40404, prompting you to type YES if you have an existing Twitter handle, after which you can reply with your username (don't include the @ symbol).  You'll be prompted to send your password, and then you’ll be able to post tweets simply by sending text messages to 40404.  HURRICANE SANDY STORM TRACKER: FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES  If you don’t have a Twitter account and you’d like to create one to use from your phone, simply text 40404 with the word “START” and respond with your full name once you receive the text message prompt - a mobile account will be created for you. To tweet, just text your posts to 40404.  If you don't want to create a Twitter account at all, you can still keep an eye on what's happening by receiving updates via text message on your cell phone.  SANDY THREATENS TO WREAK HAVOC ON THE INTERNET TOO  TEXT, DON'T CALL, ONCE HURRICANE SANDY HITS, ADVISE CELL PHONE CARRIERS  Whether you want alerts from key users posting emergency notifications (@NYGovCuomo, @NYCMayorsOffice, @NOAAComms) or you want all the latest news (@NYDailyNews will keep you up to speed), you can direct selected tweets to your phone via text message by texting “Follow [username] to 40404” and you will start receiving these updates via SMS.  If you do this and you find yourself overloaded, you can turn off SMS notifications by texting “OFF” to 40404.  Avoid using the phone, except for serious emergencies. #Sandy  Of course, you'll have to have cell reception for these methods to work – and cell phone battery, so conserve your resources if you're in an area at risk of losing power.  TWITTER RIPS MITT WITH 'ROMNEY'S STORM TIPS' FOR HURRICANE SANDY  And while Twitter is a free service, standard messaging rates apply, meaning each tweet counts as a text message.
Stay connected on Twitter during Hurricane Sandy: How to tweet and check alerts even if you lose Internet access.