I am a huge supporter of the Web2.0 project Twitter; it is fun, it is simple, and most of all it has implications ranging far wider than simple ego-blogging.
Granted, at the moment, Twitter – along with other social networks – are very much about the ego-blogging, but in the past 6 months we’ve already seen Twitter used to a much greater purpose.
It wasn’t that long ago that I focused on Twitter being used in the Californian fires. At least two news networks and one local were Twittering every several minutes, informing people of where fires were, what conditions were, and essentially everything one needs to know in a fire emergency.
What’s more is that prior to that, in an act almost miraculous, Twitter enabled the ability to follow certain phrases part of the natural format. Thus, by starting their Tweets with a uniform message – ie, “Cal Fires” or something – people were able to subscribe to anything and everything that contained such a message.
Well Twitter, along with Facebook, are being called on by humanitarian aid workers the world over in a new project to launch on Thursday by Google.org.
Innovative Support to Emergencies, Diseases and Disaster (InSTEDD) is a non-profit organization that plans to put the new internet technologies to use in aiding humanitarian crises such as outbreaks of the Bird Flu or disasters such as Hurricane Katrina. The technology is, according to Eric Rasmussen, president and CEO of InSTEDD, to be used to coordinate rescue responses, and help save lives.
"We're not talking about pulling the red phone out of the bottom drawer here," said Rasmussen, referring to Twitter and Facebook. "We're talking about using ubiquitous, free software that is repurposed when necessary to fit into a humanitarian need."
The project has received funding from several sources including Google, through its charitable arm Google.org ($5 milion), the Rockefeller Foundation ($1 million) and a separate six-figure amount from a foundation associated with venture capitalist John Doerr, also a Google investor.
"My dream for InSTEDD is to fulfill the much-needed role of an independent agent,” said Dr. Larry Brilliant, who first conceived of the idea, “bringing the technological, medical, and organizational skills necessary to help the humanitarian aid community accomplish (early detection of public health threats and disasters), and ultimately help them to make the world a safer place."
One of the applications that this project will focus around is the ability that Twitter has to work between the internet and mobile phones. Using a location detection feature, a message sent from a phone from the middle of Africa, will tie in with a layer on Google Earth, pinpointing the senders location, with the text message requesting help. Aid workers from UNICEFF or the InSTEDD’s headquarters in Palo Alto, California, could then read the message, and provide assistance.
"We can send an SMS message onto Google Earth in an emergency center, and it sees a dot with a color-coded response, with my name and date. Right underneath that, there's a button that says reply, and (aid workers can send a note that says) we have the resources you need 2 miles north...Suddenly there's a two-way conversation using nothing but a cell phone with one bar," said Rasmussen, adding: "We've done this."
The Thursday launch will also feature blogs and a directory of aid workers, a directory that professionals will then be able to add their own names too. In addition to a Facebook modification, this will allow professionals to keep everyone updated on their locations, and to see where “friends of friends” are, in need of emergency.
"Social networking in the humanitarian space, that's something you're going to see,” Rasmussen added.
Joshua Hill, a Geek’s-Geek from Melbourne, Australia, Josh is an aspiring author with dreams of publishing his epic fantasy, currently in the works, sometime in the next 5 years. A techie, nerd, sci-fi nut and bookworm.
