Apr 18, 2007 7:07 am US/Central
Digital Tributes Honor Virginia Tech Victims
BLACKSBURG, Va. (CBS News) ―
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Virginia Tech students have been turning to the social networking site Facebook to leave messages on shooting victim's pages. (File)
Facebook.com
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Students participate in a candle light vigil on Drill Field at Virginia Tech April 17, 2007 in Blacksburg, Va.
Mannie Garcia/AFP/Getty Images
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Students comfort each other during a convocation and memorial April 17, 2007, one day after a shooting massacre at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Va. Thousands lined up to attend the event.
Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
On Tuesday, pages on Facebook read: "angels," "godspeed" and "miss you already."
For many Virginia Tech students, this is where they go to mourn their friends:
Facebook. Usually a massive digital yearbook, today it's a memorial site, CBS News correspondent Daniel Sieberg reports.
Some friends have written directly on victim's pages "A new flower is in heaven! … we will miss you, little belly dancer."
Another reads, "you won't ever be forgotten."
And this simple but powerful repetition: "I love you I love you I love you."
Facebook says it's having its busiest day ever, with more than 500 groups where people can write goodbyes. One group alone has more than 118,000 members.
One site, a "moment of silence," was set up by Virginia Tech sophomore Mark Malloy.
Fellow student Sheri Pegram and others found comfort in these sites.
Facebook also has tribute pages where anybody can express their grief, and have from across the nation and around the world. There are messages from Singapore, India and Switzerland.
There are countless other sites with similar emotions: "rest in peace," "our hearts go out to the loved ones."
And it's not all print.
There are video eulogies online like this one at
YouTube.
While these sentiments may be expressed in the virtual world, they can help those who have to carry on in the real one.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
CBS News Interactive: Blacksburg Massacre
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