iPhone Savior: Miracle On The Hudson iPhone Photographer, One Year Later

When Janis Krums boarded a New York commuter ferry headed across the Hudson River on the afternoon of January 15, 2009, he had no clue he was in the direct path of a history making event.

Janis Krums, who came to the U.S. from Latvia in 1995, was on board that ferry carrying the "first responders" to arrive at the US Airways Flight 1549 crash scene less than four minutes after the plane hit the water. Krums' first message posted to his TwitPic stream left no room for misunderstanding, because his epic iPhone snapshot told the tale.

"There's a plane in the Hudson. I'm on the ferry going to pick up the people. Crazy." Janis wrote on Twitter.

As the ferry boat approached the right side of the downed plane, Krums used his iPhone to snap what would become the first photo of flight 1549, showing some of the survivors as they exited the plane. Within minutes that photo was posted online, enabling the world to witness the US Airways crash up close and personal.

"We were pulling up to the wing, I wasn't even thinking of taking a picture until I saw other people taking them," Mr. Krums told the iPhone Savior in a brief interview. "I had no idea that we were the first one's pulling up to the crash until I looked around."

Even now the photo still looks surreal, like a promo shot captured for a disaster film rather than a candid eyewitness snapshot taken with an iPhone. Janis Krums was quick to admit that he hadn't taken the whole social networking craze too seriously until that chilly day on the Hudson.

"No one really heard of Twitter, it was kind of a joke," Krums said, "Now it's respected. I only took one picture. I had no idea of the reach it would have."

The first few minutes after Janis uploaded his image onto TwitPic, it received over 40,000 views. To date, the image has been viewed well over half a million times. It was that very snapshot that led MSNBC to Krums as the ferry boat pulled into the dock to deliver its first load of crash survivors to safety.

"I gave my iPhone to one of the people being rescued in order to call their family. When we were exiting the ferry I got my phone back and it was MSNBC calling." said Janis.

Thirty-four minutes after Janis Krums tweeted his message and unforgettable photo, MSNBC was interviewing him live on TV as an eyewitness from the scene of the crash. I asked Janis, who resides in Sarasota, Florida, how the Miracle On The Hudson impacted his life since last year.

"I started paying more attention to the impact of social media, because anyone with a phone can report news." Krums said.

As the result of his experience on the Hudson, Janis started doing part-time consulting in Sarasota, instructing individuals on ways to integrate social media into their business. In fact, Janis was even hired by Congressman Vern Buchanan.

"I've helped out Vern Buchanan, the Congressman here in Sarasota. I helped his team understand using Twitter and Facebook. Now they have a dedicated staff member who manages their social media because they understand the power of it." said Janis.

"So many people don't understand social media or they don't really go full force with it."

I asked Janis if he still relies on his iPhone 3G for launching his personal posts onto Twitter and Facebook, but I never expected the answer he offered up next.

"My AT&T service was really bad here, so I switched over to Verizon and I'm using the Droid now." Krums said candidly. "When the Droid came out it did everything I needed to do. It hasn't dropped a call yet, it's been six or seven weeks and I'm pretty happy about that."

"The only downside is the Android Market, it's not as polished as the App Store," Janis admitted. "You live with the iPhone so long with those dropped call issues and you don't realize it's not normal. I'm glad I don't have to deal with that anymore."

I asked Janis what advice he had for the millions of other smartphone users across the globe who pay little or no attention to the raw potential and power of social media. He summed up his thoughts in a way you'd expect from a man armed with a life affirming experience.

"You never know what's going to be a waste of time," Janis said, "With Twitter, if there's a big story I can see it in seconds. Like when Brittany Murphy died, it was on Twitter before CNN even had it."

[Play Hudson River Landing Game]