The earthquake in Haiti last week was a sudden, devastating blow to a nation already under considerable strain. Relief efforts launched immediately to save lives and deliver care and supplies to the survivors.
The needs and concerns of the Haiti relief efforts are obviously quite different from the issues faced by communities with large numbers of H1N1 cases. While our efforts on this website — curating web tools, tips for using social media, and aggregating resources for reporters — are done with an eye to covering the H1N1 pandemic, one of the goals of the FluPortal project is to advance public media infrastructures and capabilities for crisis response more generally.
Over the last week, we have seen an impressive number of Haiti-related online and social media initiatives that provide some valuable lessons public media can take away as we continue the conversation of preparedness and how local stations and content producers can play a valuable role during a crisis situation. Here are a few of the trends and highlights.
- Twitter — In the hours after the earthquake, Twitter reminded us of its power to provide information channels when most other means of communication are down. Many news organizations are using the new Twitter Lists functionality to curate feeds originating from within the affected areas of Haiti. Examples include NPR, the New York Times, and CNN. And a quick search of Twitter returns the latest tweets using using the hashtag #haiti. Media outlets with an existing presence on Twitter were able to utilize the platform to enhance their coverage.
- Flickr — Some of the first images we saw of the destruction caused by the earthquake were found on Flickr. Additionally, Flickr’s API is being used to provide a photo search engine for missing persons. And, as we have highlighted here on FluPortal.org, the photo sharing service can be a great source for Creative Commons licensed images to use on your station’s website.
- Mobile giving — In the first week since the earthquake, over $20 million has been given via text message donations. Mobile donation opportunities via SMS short codes have received extensive media promotion, and the numbers of donations continue to increase. Consumers embracing this type of giving has obvious implications for future crisis response planning (not to mention the business models of non-profits everywhere).
- Crisis Camps — The realm of public media makers continue to expand as tech savvy volunteers come together to build social media tools to meet the specific needs of a crisis situation. Over the weekend, Crisis Camps were held in a number of cities and they produced valuable initiatives that have the potential to make a real difference in Haiti in the days and weeks ahead.
- Ushahidi — The crisis visualization platform launched a Haiti website that allows individuals (both within and outside of Haiti) to report emergency incidents and crisis information via web and SMS. The goal is to connect response teams and aid worker with those in immediate need.
- Google Response Page — Google is providing a number of tools that utilize the power of their existing applications and infrastructure. Individuals can donate to Haiti relief efforts via Google Checkout, make free calls to Haiti using Google Voice, and view updated satellite imagery of Haiti via Google Earth. In addition, they have launched a People Finder widget to assist those searching for loved ones in Haiti.
There are themes here that public media outlets can consider in their general crisis planning. Information — the ability to gather and move accurate news and information within and outside of a crisis zone. Technology — what kinds of tools are at your disposal (online, mobile, social media) that can be utilized in emergencies? And inclusiveness — people outside a crisis want to help those affected. How can we facilitate and channel that goodwill, both financially and in active, constructive ways?
Moving forward, FluPortal will continue to monitor the Haiti response situation and engage those involved to continue the discussion about public media and crisis response.