Social Tools in Disasters

Social Media, Social Tools in Disasters, Voices of the World, Youth Rap Insights
Kids for Mumbai
12.05.08 | Dina | Permalink | 8 Comments

Priyanka Kargupta is an 8 year old living in Maryland, USA. She’s set up Kids for Mumbai - to help those affected by the Mumbai Terror Attacks. I personally don’t know her, just got an email from her, and would encourage you to assess it for yourselves before donating. She’s provided links to her Dad [...]
Participatory Media, Social Media, Social Tools in Disasters
Are we asking the right questions?
12.03.08 | Dina | Permalink | 9 Comments

A whole lot of questions are being asked about whether the Twitter #mumbai feed was citizen journalism or not. Many ’sides’ are emerging in this debate. I found this post (thru’ a tweet by @MaryHodder) which asks How Should Journalists Use Twitter? I’m not so sure it’s the right question to be asking … [...]
Social Media, Social Tools in Disasters
Mumbai Bleeds
11.27.08 | Dina | Permalink | 27 Comments

{updated: 28 November 10.30 am IST}
Some helpline numbers:
List of Injured and Deceased
JJ Hospital +91 22 23739031
St George’s Hospital - +91 22 22620240
Mumbai Police’s Helpline Numbers
Taj helpline numbers for info about people stuck inside - +91 -22-66574322, +91-22-66574372, local toll free 1-800-111-825
Trident Hotel Helpline : 011-23890606, 011-23890505, 9810956888 | Dir Corp Comm, Oberoi Hotels
For Info [...]
Blogs & Blogging, Social Media, Social Tools in Disasters
The Paradox of the Wisdom of Crowds
11.07.08 | Dina | Permalink | 4 Comments

I rediscovered this TED talk by James Surowiecki, author of The Wisdom of Crowds.
James Surowiecki pinpoints the moment when social media became an equal player in the world of news-gathering: the 2005 tsunami, when YouTube video, blogs, IMs and txts carried the news — and preserved moving personal stories from the tragedy.
. Thanks to [...]
Participatory Media, Social Media, Social Tools in Disasters
Web-based volunteer efforts around Hurricane Gustav
08.31.08 | Dina | Permalink | 5 Comments

Volunteers on the world wide web are getting ready to help as Hurricane Gustav gathers fury heading towards the Northern Gulf Coast. I was alerted to this through tweets by Andy Carvin, (@acarvin) who’s coordinating these efforts:
* Gustav Information Center is up
* Follow live updates on Gustav at Twitter - search for #gustav
* IRC [...]
Social Media, Social Tools in Disasters
Jaipur Blasts
05.14.08 | Dina | Permalink | Comment?

Rohit Gupta is updating us on the real situation from Jaipur on Twitter.
Blogs & Blogging, Social Media, Social Tools in Disasters, Voices of the World
It takes disasters …
05.13.08 | Dina | Permalink | Comment?

…. to break my blogging hiatus. How helpless we are under the force of nature’s fury. Myanmar Cyclone 28,458 deaths & 33,416 missing. China Earthquake almost 10000 dead & mounting. All of this in less than 10 days.
There’s been a huge load of blogging and tweeting live as the earthquake and its aftermath [...]
Onlineactivism, Social Tools in Disasters
Somewherein using SMS to raise funds for Sidr Victims
11.23.07 | Dina | Permalink | Comment?

Aparna Ray, in a post at Global Voices Online links to several blogs that are trying to garner aid and resources to help victims of Cyclone Sidr. [Image on right courtesy BBC News]. Towards the end of the post, she shares this simple yet cool use of SMS to get people to donate:
Bangla blogging [...]
Social Tools in Disasters, Voices of the World
Panties for Democracy
10.22.07 | Dina | Permalink | 10 Comments

Send your panties to Burmese embassies as a sign of protest for the atrocities being committed by the Burmese regime. A new wave of activism, Panties for Peace - a manoeuvre meant to embarrass and insult the Junta:
“The manoeuvre is a calculated insult to the junta and its leader, General Than Shwe. Superstitious junta [...]