Article Review

Darin Heinrich

New Communication Technology

Social Media Used During Crisis

            Social media is everywhere, and is beginning to be used for a number of things. A popular trend we have seen lately is the use of social media and cell phones to report news stories and important events that are taking place around us. The article that I read on Mashable was called 5 Social Media Lessons From the Haiti Earthquake Relief Effort. The article talked about how social media was used to not only generate stories about the earthquake but also to do a great amount of fundraising as well. Through its texting campaign the Red Cross was able to raise $20 million simply by people texting a number to give a donation that would be taken from their cell phone bill. The article talked about how social media was used during the time of crisis in relations to the earthquake but what I found interesting was the actual 5 lessons that it pointed out and how we can learn and improve from what we already know. 

1.      Haiti represents the maturation of mobile giving.

            The Red Cross was about to generate nearly $20 billion in donations, these donations came from text messages sent that would charge the sender $10. This was a very impressive number which far topped any other donation service set up and since the Haiti earthquake has only raised $4 million. Knowing and understanding how to utilize texting and the use of cell phones to generate revenue or funding will remain important. 

2.      Online participants did more than just give money.

           Those who were helping were able to share their experience firsthand by tweeting, updating statuses and uploading pictures of what they were doing. This made the issue seem more real to others who were not actually in Haiti and gave them a better sense of how bad things really were which would eventually lead to more wanting to be involved.

3.      Integration of social with traditional media.

           There were a number of examples of how social media began to interact with traditional media. Traditional journalists began using social networking platforms to reach a number of other readers and individuals who may not have seen their stories otherwise. CNN and the NFL did a lot of broadcasting about how their audience could get involved and help out on the various social networks.

4.      The story was emotional but not fully told.

           We were made aware of the issues and saw the photos of destruction and individuals suffering but never really understood the real issue of Haiti’s poverty and terrible living conditions. In 1989 San Francisco had a earthquake that was as bad as the one in Haiti but only 63 people died as opposed to the approximately 500,000 people who were killed in Haiti. This was mainly due to their unstable housing and relief efforts once the earthquake actually hit. 

5.      Immediacy and impact are not the same.

            Although we did a lot initially to help Haiti, are we still doing enough? Haiti is still rebuilding and still needs a lot of money and help. However the fear is that with social media controlling so much of the way we do things and news stories we see we become involved with the next big issue and generally forget about those who still need help. 

http://mashable.com/2010/01/20/social-media-lessons-haiti/

Covering Disaster

Covering Disaster

            Covering Disaster is an article that discusses the way information is gathered, shared and distributed during a time of crisis, whether it is a natural disaster or terrorist attack. Both natural disasters and terrorist attacks have been on the rise in the past few decades and more is finally being done to help ensure the safety and prevention of injury of those who happen to be living in the specific area that is being affected. With the growing popularity of cell phones in all areas of the world this effort is becoming easier. Cell phones are more popular than ever according to the article, by the end of 2008 4 billion people in the world had cell phone subscriptions, basically 61 in every 100 people. Many of those cell phones have access to the internet which can access social media sites like Facebook and Twitter which are now becoming popular ways to get out important information during a time of crisis.

            With our constant advances in technology we experience a number of opportunities and also challenges when it comes to sharing information through social networks and while using our phones. Information flow must be two-way to be effective, information will not be used unless it is trusted, and information will be helpful only if it is accurate. Keeping those three things in mind organizations have formed to help ensure the safety of locals during a time of crisis. However, it isn’t just the simple fact of informing people that something bad is about to happen. What seems to lack the most is the knowledge of people as to what they should do if something is about to happen, and what they should do after. The article talked about being able to provide individuals with information before and after crisis but often times it wasn’t the information that people were looking to hear. People want to know where they can go for housing or supplies if they have lost everything and until lately that was never considered.

            Using social media networks allows others to reach a large population and alert them about a threatening issue or storm that is forming. Not only have individuals began to use social media and cell phones just to warn people about something but also to help them after. It is very common now that through social networks and by texting, people can contribute to relief efforts even if what has happened is half way around the globe. Many have utilized text messages to donate to relief efforts or social networks to form groups that will mobilize or do other things to help provide supplies or support for those in a time of need.

            I think the article is best summed up when the author says on page 14, “The impact of disasters and conflicts on lives and livelihoods can be greatly reduced by giving affected communities advance warning” (Coyle, Meier, 2009). Although there is still a long way to go in early warning precautions and technology it is reassuring to see that organizations and governments are taking steps in the right direction. Being prepared before hand and having a plan is half the battle, following that is the ability to communicate and execute that plan with the public within moments with a system that is reliable and can reach as many individuals as possible.

Beginning to Follow

Recently I started following two new blogs. JoshisElectric is Josh Fishburn's blog. He is actually a professor at Whitewater and his blog consists mainly of posts and articles about new technology, social media and some gaming. I had Josh as a teacher last semester and always found his material very interesting so I thought it would be beneficial to follow his blog as well.

The other blog I started to follow  is called soshable.com and is a blog that writes original stories, reposts and analyzes stories about anything that has to do with social media. It also talks about new trends or emergences of new social media platforms. There are many interesting articles on the blog, many of which seem to relate to topics we had been discussing in class.

Along with beginning to follow these two new blogs I also set up an account on sitemeter to measure the traffic on my blog. Also I will begin to promote my blog through my twitter account.

Follow me on twitter @Darin_Heinrich