Twitters involvement with disaster relief.

With the advent of social networking becoming an essential part of our daily lives, there is the tendency to dismiss these sites as a distraction for society instead of an aid. This is especially true with Twitter. Initially the site was viewed as frivolous and another example of how society has become obsessed with voyeurism and self promotion. However with Twitters use by people to organize and report news, it has become an invaluable tool for the news media. The Haiti earthquake has shown the effect that Twitter can have in reporting news and helping peoples affected by a disaster.

In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake Twitter was one of the sources used by television news stations like CNN. It was also essential in trying to get aid sent to the island by highlighting what conditions presently existed and what was needed to help with the relief effort. One of these people who used Twitter to report what was happening in the Haitian capital of Port au Prince was radio host Carel Pedre. He said during an interview with the BBC of his initial reactions after the earthquake; “My first reactions were fear, concern, frustration. Was my family safe? Would my house collapse? Was the world coming to an end? But as it happened I also had the first instinct to get on my phone and Tweet "Am I the only one who felt that?" It is because of other people like Mr.Pedre that Twitter became such an important aid in reporting news from Haiti.

This type of disaster reporting has also lead to the creation of software that will aid in filtering of information during a disaster coming from social networking sites including Twitter. According to the Huffington Post the software called Ushahidi was originally developed after the Kenyan elections in 2007. The software can be used to locate those in need during a crisis situation and send their information to relief agencies to help them. This was used in Haiti by freeing people trapped underneath rubble who had sent Tweets to Ushahidi and whose information was forwarded to the Red Cross on the scene in Haiti.