Suddenly Twitter seems less annoying. The online messaging service derided by comedians such as Jon Stewart as "inane chatter" proved to be a life-saver in the Philippines this week. So was the networking site Facebook, which Filipinos used it to plead for help and inform friends and relatives about how to avoid the worst of Manila's floods.

It's a good thing, given how clueless the government was in what's being called the nation's Hurricane Katrina. Critics are right to invoke US incompetence as New Orleans took on water in 2005. Philippine officials embarrassed themselves by claiming their response was no less tardy than that of other governments.

The line seems to be: We were a little less pathetic than officials in the US and Taiwan, so go easy on us. Yeah guys, you go on believing that. Manila's 12 million people know how your neglect and ill-preparation put them at risk.

The Philippines' woes offer three broader lessons for Asia and investors betting on the region's growth potential.

First, governments are often big on spin, small on results. The Philippines is a prime and tragic example, as we were reminded this week. The storm left at least 277 people dead.

Don't underestimate how Twitter Inc. or Facebook Inc. can exert people power. Twitter, for example, played an unexpected role in protests after Iran's recent election. China even blocked Twitter on June 4, the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Discussions on Facebook also are unnerving the region's governments.

All that online chatter puts the onus on elected officials to do their jobs. Filipino politicians have a well-deserved track record of declaring victory the moment growth returns. This year's 51 percent surge in the Philippine Stock Exchange Index gave many people the sense that the good times were back.

The aftermath of tropical storm Ketsana shows how that's largely an illusion. Yes, the Philippines economy is growing 1.5 percent while the US's is in recession. The trouble is, even seven percent growth rarely touches those who need it most.

These people live in the Manila shantytowns that literally floated away as antiquated sewage systems backed up. The last few governments pledged to upgrade drainage and sanitation programs, only to do little. They promised to improve infrastructure, only to leave the problem for the next leader.

Granted, budgets are tight, particularly amid a global recession. It's times like these when the lip service about reducing corruption and increasing tax receipts rings hollow. Only by acting rather than talking will Asia's developing economies raise living standards and reach their potential.

Second, the implications of Asia's march to urbanisation. If you want to take the pulse of economies, you could do worse than hang around train stations. Be it Jakarta, Manila, Mumbai or Shanghai, the hordes of people arriving downtown offer investors more insights than statistics or the financial pages.

On the one hand, they suggest global demand for energy and other raw materials will rise in the years ahead. New roads, bridges, hospitals, schools, airports and housing mean higher demand for cement, steel, lumber, glass, rubber, copper and a host of other basic materials. On the other hand, governments must avoid being overwhelmed by the dynamic.

In May, Filipinos will elect a new leader. Should he or she fail to put the nation on a more prosperous path, the Twitter and Facebook crowds will be watching. That goes for the rest of Asia, too.

William Pesek is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.