Social media to the rescue
In a time when many find fault with negative uses of social media such as Facebook and Twitter, it’s been good to see news reports showing the good that is coming from these sites.
I’m referring to the communication link that these sites are providing the devastated victims of the earthquake in Haiti. By their own accounts, without Facebook and Twitter, they would have no way of communicating with the outside world. These sites are also serving as very effective ways to raise a lot of money for relief efforts in this Caribbean nation.
A passerby donates a $20 bill to the Haitian earthquake relief donation drive held by a University of Florida club. (Doug Finger/The Gainesville Sun).
As one ABC reporter noted, the same social media that have been struggling to make money for themselves have become an important way to raise money for others in need. Case in point, by Thursday night of this week — just a day or so after putting out a plea on Facebook and Twitter for funds for Haitian relief — singer Wyclef Jean’s Facebook plea had garnered pledges of over $1 million. And the Haitian musician was hoping to get a multi-million gift from golfer Tiger Woods.
Another ABC report has noted that this donation, plus those coming in from similar Facebook and Twitter pleas generated by entertainers like Ben Stiller, Dr. Phil, the Dixie Chicks, Shaquille O’Neal, and Tyra Banks has resulted in the most money ever raised for relief in such a short period of time.
But the fund-raising has been only part of the role that the social media have played in this Haitian disaster. Sites like Facebook and Twitter have been the only communication many Haitians have had with the outside world, and vice versa. Family members and friends from around the world have largely been unable to contact their loved ones in Haiti by phone and have gone to the social meda sites instead where many have made connections with those they sought, or at least have received news about them.
USA Today writer Judy Keen has written that one Michigan woman in Haiti, Terri Vruggink, used a satellite Internet connection to let family and friends back home in East Grand Rapids, that she was alive.
“Facebook is my lifeline right now,” she said told Keen via Facebook’s messaging system.
Vruggink, a photographer documenting a missionary group’s work in Saint-Marc, is among many people using social-networking sites to share news and photos, ask for help finding missing loved ones or seek donations, Keen said.
“Facebook has been the only way that we could let people see what is happening,” said Phyllis Bass, one of five members of the Gateway Free Will Baptist Church in Virginia Beach, Va., Bass touched down in this country just an hour before the earthquake struck. She is using Facebook to tell her friends she is okay and to send photos to them of the devastation. She spoke to USA Today via Facebook’s messaging system.
As of Thursday, more than 1,500 Facebook status updates containing the word “Haiti” had appeared since the quake hit, according to the site’s spokesman, Andrew Noyes.
The cell phone companies are also collecting a lot of money for Haiti. Verizon Wireless set up a system whereby cell phone customers can text 90999 to give $10 to the relief effort, and that amount will automatically be charged to their Verizon bill. As of Wednesday, the company’s spokesman Jeff Nelson said more than $1 million had been received.
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Comments
Similar to the power of a tsunami, social media has become a means for people to use words, pictures and technology to share life and create shared-meaning. Whether through text messages, Twitter and Facebook, or Youtube, millions of people are engaging to share information and create hope in the midst of a tragedy. A recent example would be a small Facebook group named Hotel Montana that was established by three persons whom were trying to find their family members. As the group administrators quickly established clarity of topics, persons began posting a variety of information, creating as James Surowiecki called it the “Wisdom of Crowds.” Bits of information from the global community began painting the greatest and most accurate portrait of the unfolding events. Through word-of-mouth, Whether it’s of value in actually discovering people or not, the true value is the heart of providing hope, a connectedness through community, as well as a hope changes our behavior.
Although, I am not an avid Facebook user, I do use it at times. Over the past couple of days I have received numerous messages from friends who have included me in their mass messages, requesting that I donate to the cause. Many of the messages informed me of the many options I had to donate. I could use a certain number to text which would be automatically be charged to my cell phone bill, I could also use Wyclef’s system or I could go to certain Red Cross locations in my community. I must say it was great to see all of the support that Haiti has received. But not only did I see people requesting help through Facebook, I was also receiving numerous text messages to my phone from friends. Or some people included phrases such as “God Bless Haiti” in their statuses on other social networking sites. There have been others who I thought didn’t have a kind bone in their body that would forward these texts or emails and I thought, “Wow!” I guess people really come together when there is a true crisis in our world and others are in dire need of help.
Being a facebook user and a fulltime student, plus playing basketball on the side, that doesn’t leave me much time for TV. I agree with the statement above that facebook truely connects people around the world. I got people “tag” me in messages about the “Haiti earthquake, Please donate” which I had no idea about up until it showed up on my blackberry. Regardless of the negativity facebook may cause by it’s users abusing it, to me it truely is something very helpful for a lot of us who are always rushing to school or work or trying to find a minute to give us a break from everyday life. It gives us a moment to stop and learn something going on around the world, by joining causes and groups that help people all over the world, and hopefully get us to donate our time or money to something tragic like the earth quake in Haiti and spread awareness.
It’s good to see that Facebook is doing more than just wasting my time and helping me procrastinate with my homework. It’s weird to think back on how much Facebook has evolved. It used to just be a site where college students could communicate. Facebook then targeted a younger crowd, high school students. After reaching out to the high school demographic, it reached many parents which led to many shocked and embarrassed teens, me included. Now Facebook is used by schools, companies, and organizations and is used as a significant factor in their promotion and marketing strategies.
It’s strange to see Facebook and Twitter actually doing some good in the world. I don’t know if I ever would have guessed that would happen. However, I must say it gives me reason to add a point to the love side of my love-hate relationship with these sites. I feel like young people are by far the most entranced with these websites, so it is nice to see how Facebook could cause such a call to action for the younger generation. In addition, it is actually pretty cool to see how the entire globe can be so connected through the internet and social-networking websites. Since the creation of myspace, facebook, and twitter it seems as if the world in which we live has shrunk significantly. Once upon a time it would have taken forever for the media to catch on to what was happening in the remote area of Haiti, and even for news to spread to the masses, yet now the entire world was able to know in an incredibly short amount of time. Again, its nice to know that I don’t have to feel so guilty about secretly loving online social-networking, especially now that it has proven it can be an incredibly positive medium of communication.
I think it is great to how good of a purpose Facebook and twitter can have on serving. And yet donations are still not any where near where they should be. I wish there was a way that not as many people would disregard these posts. But I still think this is a perfect way to encourage people to be involved in certain causes.
This issue was a topic of discussion in both of my classes last night. About 90% of my students were aware of the earthquake, which is remarkable, but they had no depth of knowledge – most could only give a one sentence summary of Haiti’s situation. In some cases, for example the recent health care debates, depth is vitally important, but in cases like Haiti’s earthquake a sentence summary is enough to motivate us to act through donations or other assistance.