On Tuesday, 12 January 2010 a devastating earthquake struck Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. As the first week following the potentially disastrous events reaches an end, it has been remarkable to witness and examine how web has played its part in facilitating communication, disaster relief and fundraising .
With reports coming in of vast sums of money being donated through online and text appeals, it is interesting to see who is doing what and how it is being reported.
Google has dedicated disaster relief site now for Haiti. It aggregates the latest news, video and aid information currently available.
Tweak the Tweet, provides a dictionary of hashtags for reporting on issues on the ground in Haiti and calling for aid. Here are templates for using their syntax
Learning to speak #machine
Twitter has provided many people with a communication lifeline. For those affected on the ground as well as those affected around the world. The role played by twitter in facilitating disaster relief is now being reviewed through the discussion of ‘hashtags for emergency response’ an interesting examination into the semantic ‘hashtag’ protocol potential of twitter data definition for emergency response.
Facebook provides a variety of ways to communicate. Through messaging, wall-posts and IM. All of which have been used as a way of directly communicating. Alongside direct messaging, a great many groups have sprung up also. With groups being open the public it’s unfortunate, albeit inevitable, to witness a growing abuse in peoples trust through these public groups.
Related News Reports
The BBC has filed a couple of reports on the phenomenal and innovative ways that social media has been used to help victims, relatives and facilitate aid efforts. I’m sure we’ll see a few more of these in the coming weeks.
- Social networks and the web offer a lifeline in Haiti
- Twitter and Facebook users respond to Haiti crisis
Other related news stories
- Facebook Haiti Earthquake Scam Artists Surface – Associated Content
- Twitter and Facebook praised by Haiti charity – The Telegraph
- Social networking sites boost Haiti disaster appeal – Charities Aid Foundation
- Aid agencies ‘must use new tools’ – BBC
