Google Partners with Twitter and Facebook for Emergency Relief
A CNet article talks about an initiative to spread information about disasters and recovery. The project is called Innovative Support to Emergencies, Diseases and Disaster (InSTEDD) and is being funded partially by a $5 million grant by Google's charitable organization (Google.org). The goal is to use services such as Twitter and Facebook to coordinate rescue responses and to hopefully save many lives in the process.
At its launch Thursday, the InSTEDD Web site will also feature blogs and a directory of aid workers, where professionals can register and regularly update their locations. That way, people can easily locate others in the event of a disaster.
The concept seems appealing, and since Twitter has been known as a tool that helps find missing children in addition to announcing disasters such as earthquakes, it's a great initiative.
Forum discussion continues at DigitalPoint Forums.
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Tamar Weinberg in Other Google Topics at January 17, 2008 9:28 AM
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It's a nice sentiment. But in reality, the people who would need this service the most in the face of a real disaster (floods, earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, raging fires, etc.) won't have internet access as almost assuredly the power will be out.
Posted by Buscamos at January 17, 2008 11:51