Assignment 10-1

Social-media tools such as Twitter, Wikipedia and Facebook have become a key source of information about disasters in the twenty-first century. These websites help spread awareness quickly and to a large population. Facebook users create relief-effort groups and fan pages, spreading the words to millions of users. Twitter users post links to relief funds and spread the word about disasters as well. All of these sources create an information web that extends far beyond the demographic that watches the news or reads the paper, and these social-media websites do it quickly too. "Slacktivism" has become the popular word to describe the various (Internet) petitions, groups and "tweets" intending to bring help where it's needed. The reason this receives a negative connotation is because people are quick to spread the word of help and relief efforts, but far less quick to actually [financially] contribute to these efforts.

After the magnitude 7 earthquake in Haiti in 2010, people flocked to social-media websites for information. People tweeted links to relief funds such as the Red Cross and Transcom, uploaded pictures of the disaster and constantly updated information. When people hear about an event like this, they don't want to sit back and watch it happen on the news-they want to get themselves and others involved. These social-networking sites act as news wire services, passing along information as soon as it is discovered. Immediately after the disaster in Haiti, four of the top 10 Twitter topics were on Haiti or earthquake relief. This shows how useful these websites are in spreading information, and that people actually pay attention to and pass on this information.

Several months after this disaster, Twitter is still being used to spread the word about progress and relief efforts. "Tweeters" post pictures of rebuilt homes, post links to news stories discussing Haiti and are continuing to post about relief funds. Although several social-networking sites have been very effective and beneficial to Haitian relief funds, Twitter seems to stick out. It has proven to be a very important tool in fundraising and raising awareness. "Following the earthquake in Haiti, Twitter has once again become a platform to disseminate the news and, more important, a way to quickly raise money to support relief efforts," said Mark Evans of Sysomos Inc., one of the world's leading social media analytics companies.

Haiti is the largest recent disaster, and really showed how much social-media websites could do. Technology has made the process of donating and spreading information more efficient and enabled more people to take action. In the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, the Red Cross raised more than $4 million in donations from its text message campaign: "Text 'Haiti' to 90999 and a $10 donation is added to your cell phone bill". This campaign was so simple and efficient, without needing credit cards and paypal accounts, that donations have flooded in.

Social-networking sites are becoming more than "social" networking. They're becoming outlets for expressing opinions, spreading information and increasing the desire and efforts to help others. With the continuation of the century, these websites will become more crucial to the public when it comes to obtaining information quickly and accurately.