Phones and Internet: Bridging the World in Times of Disaster
We all know the simple facts: Twitter, SMS and modern day methods of digital communication have helped greatly in speeding up the response of emergency groups during the earthquake in Haiti. Relief efforts were instantly organized and created within the span of a few minutes instead of hours. People instantly got in touch with persons with authority and power, which made bringing help where it was needed most possible.
Aside from natural disaster, blogs, SMS and even Twitter have played key roles in documenting and making the world aware of many a great crisis that has been happening all around us. Internet access have allowed people living the Afghan border to not only update the world on the state of things, but have also helped the people themselves in being aware of possible dangers –allowing them to evacuate ahead of schedule.
Back in 2007, the Kenyan elections were fraught with many unfortunate events. But thanks to the selfless efforts of Ory Okolloh and many other bloggers, they were able to establish Ushahidi, a simple website that keeps a map chart of major events and reports. The latest event to be covered by the site is the recent earthquake in Haiti –until now, Ushahidi is helping coordinate efforts for the devastated country.
Before, it was originally believed that mobs of people are difficult to control, and that en masse, humans tend to be uncoordinated and often fail to live up to their potential as a single working unit. Thanks to the presence of the internet however, communication is no longer limited to simply shouting out orders.
Details and instructions can now be relayed directly, providing each group of individuals with clear directions on what can be done to help. Thanks to technology, humanity has once again shown that it can surpass its limits.
Find out more about Ushahidi and relief efforts through SMS at the Guardian UK.