5 Responses to "Haiti: where is social media in disaster response?"

It seems like social media has made a huge impact on the response in Haiti to date. It may have taken a little awhile to gain acceptance by a majority of the first responders (like doctors and search & rescue teams) but the relief and recovery actors seem to have benefited from it substantially.
One example has been the use of tools like Ushahidi and OpenStreetMap. Our organization used OpenStreetMap to update our Garmins in the field and give us a much better idea of how to navigate around Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas as well as verify the levels of damage in certain neighborhoods. There’s a link on OSM’s wiki that shows the media coverage they’ve gotten on their project (http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/WikiProject_Haiti#Use_and_Media_Coverage)
The impact of Twitter has also been very important from a public awareness and fundraising perspective. However, as you’ve pointed out Jo there isn’t necessarily an official leader or organizer of these tools. Perhaps the UN could push for this type of leadership to come from one of the humanitarian clusters like Early Recovery or Emergency Telecommunications. I haven’t been involved in those clusters enough to know if they have addressed this topic before.


Media also needs a professional message from someone who understands the process.
See the UK Shelterbox history and conclusions
http://www.shelterbox.org/about.php?page=11
Social media has yet to develop assessment of quality and grasping who’s the captain- the management models for crisis.
We are so used to democratic models when we have all the time for committees, workgroups and discussions and every opinion is valued.
How to determine those, who can actually put out the fire and lead the people while doing this, and listen to their directions ?


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February 25, 2010 at 10:16 pm
I live in post-industrial Detroit.
What the heck is a ‘dashboard’ and who the heck has a mobile tower laying around in their backyard? If these things aren’t available here, what makes you think they are available in Haiti?
Your point about taking things for granted is well-founded. You have taken it for granted that one of the poorest countries in this hemisphere would have the technical capacity of one of the wealthiest. That stuff isn’t in Detroit. It isn’t in Haiti, either.
In Detroit, we would look for federal help. In Haiti, they look to die.