Google has launched a new magazine style news aggrigation service called Fastflip.  It gathers news from many online sources and allows you to scroll through them in a variety of ways looking for an article that interests you.

Click the article and it appears in a regular magazine page format.  Click to read more and it redirects you to the original news source website for additional information.

Great new way to keep in touch with whats going on with a quick glance.

Well worth taking a look at and saving as a bookmark in your favorites or delicious!

Check it out here: http://fastflip.googlelabs.com/

Social Media networks fired-up as people swarmed across their social networks to keep eachother up to date on the Fire's progress and recovery efforts.

Networks such as Twitter, Facebook and Flckr were a vital source of information for many people as the devastation unfolded.

Even the mainstream media organizations jumped onboard the social networking sites to help keep readers informed using their vast news resources.

Google created a special mapping site using its Google maps tool to display graphically the location and status of fires, as did Aus-emaps.com.

Read more: Social Media Covers Victorian Bushfires