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= Social Media Effects on Haiti Relief   By: Danielle Connolly, Cameron Smead, Jason Kirstein,   Mark Mclaughin and Carolina Mohrlock    =

=__Background Information and Aftermath of the 2010 Haiti Earthquake__=

By: Danielle Connolly
The 2010 earthquake in Haiti was located 16 miles from the capital and affected millions directly on Tuesday, January 12, 2010. The quake was the worst Haiti had seen in over 200 years (Haiti Earthquake Facts, 2010). The estimate is three million people affected by the earthquake including 200,000 to 250,000 deaths, 300,000 injured, and nearly 1,000,000 homeless. Also estimated were 250,000 residences and 30,000 industrial buildings that were also destroyed. (Haiti Earthquake Facts, 2010) A study done by the Inter-American Development Bank estimated that the total cost of the disaster was between $7.2 billion to $13.2 billion, based on the estimated death toll.

The day after the earthquake the president of Haiti René Préval, called the destruction “unimaginable.” The disaster left Haiti without electricity or phone service. Schools, hospitals and a prison collapsed. Sixteen United Nations workers were missing and one was found dead in the rubble. (Haiti Earthquake Overview, 2010) Many Haitians fled the city into the countryside seeking refuge with relatives. The city was said to have remained calmer than expected considering the massive destruction.

The central government however was unable to function. Even months later many aspects of the government have yet to resume operation. (Haiti Earthquake Overview, 2010) Governments and private groups from Bejing to Grand Rapids pledged assistance. President Obama promised America’s support. Three days after the earthquake the secretary general of the United Nations claimed the disaster a humanitarian disaster. The world leaders pledged hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of troops, but had trouble getting the help into Haiti because the power was still out and telecommunications in the country could barely function. At the end of January a new United Nations system of food distribution began with coupons being handed out that qualify for 55 pounds of rice. This new method helped the confusion. Donors promised Haiti $5.3 billion dollar over the next 18 months and an interim reconstruction commission is in the midst of being created. (Haiti Earthquake Facts, 2010) Haiti is on their way to recovery.

=__The Positive Effects of Twitter__=

By: Cameron Smead


After Haiti was devastated by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake, both people living in Haiti and people all around the world turned to Twitter for the most up-to-date information. Twitter has revolutionized the world of news because of its immediacy. In just a few seconds, and in just a few characters, news organizations can post a very precise lead to inform the world. It is amazing how credible Twitter has become and that people from around the world searching for information on this devastation would turn to perhaps the newest social media phenomenon.

An article by [| The Christian Science Monitor] titled "Haiti earthquake: Twitter offers a glimpse of the scene, lifeline of hope" said, "Haitians living in Haiti took to Twitter to get word of their situation out to the world. Another article by [|The National Post] lists the various news sites that created a Twitter list with Haitian news sources and on the ground personal accounts. Through Twitter users were also able to post pictures of the aftermath allowing news seekers to get an inside look into the desperation of Haiti.

Here, [|The Washington Post] complied a list of all the latest reports on the earthquake, a Twitter feed, including news reports from Port-au-Prince, descriptions of relief efforts, requests for help, and links to photos from Twitter users.

Not only was Twitter an outlet for news updates but it was also a place where celebrities went to express their sorrow and ask for help from their followers. Wyclef Jean, was a big presence on Twitter during the aftermath of the earthquake, providing

his followers with updated information. Alyssa Milano and Christina Applegate urged their followers to donate to the Red Cross, Nicole Richie, Benki and Joel Madden, and Demi Moore were just a few of the many celebs encouraging donations to UNICEF. An article by [|The Los Angeles Times] lists out many other celebrities who joined forces to get as much aid to Haiti as they could.

"Within hours of the earthquake, scores of boldace names began using their Twitter and Facebook posts to comment on the disaster and provide links where their millions of followers could contribute to help the people of Haiti," [|reported ABC News].

In conclusion, Twitter was a huge aid in the aftermath of the earthquake because it was extremely easy for people in Haiti and people around the world to get up to date information. It also helped bring companies, news organizations, celebrities and the general public together to create ways to donate money and lend help to this country that was in great need. Twitter users were able to come together to share their grief, relief and interest in this time of desperation. Because of Twitter and how immediate it is, the way we get information is revolutionized and the aftermath of all disasters to come will be hugely impacted by Twitter.

Just a few Twitter handles that made an impact in the Haiti Twitter spree: @Haitifeed @UNICEF @Wyclef @RAMhaiti @cnnbrk @MrsKutcher @Alyssa_Milano

=__News Organizations and Mobile Donations__=

By: Jason Kirstein
media type="custom" key="7639805" align="right" Twitter and Facebook did a great job notifying people and rallying support when traditional communication was down, but news organizations were not far behind. News organizations around the world used social media and their interactive capability to get the news out as fast as they could. CNN was the prime example of how it should be done.
 * News Organizations **

Minutes after the devastating earthquake hit Haiti, CNN already began covering the story by sending out eight reporting teams, before most military and relief personnel reacted. While most traditional forms of communication were down, CNN was able to get the news out. Anchors used a number of different social media platforms to help fill the gaps in the news coverage. CNN not only presented news to the world, but the network allowed desperate family members to contact each other and let them know that they were safe(CNN, 2010).

CNN was so successful with covering the earthquake by utilizing its social media platform, iReport. CNN, like most other news organizations, did use Tweets or images from Twitter, but iReport is what separated CNN from other news outlets. iReport was implemented on the CNN website two years ago and it allowed people to upload images, videos and contact information(Bunz, 2010). It was one of the first legitimate uses of social media from a large media outlet. In one day, CNN received 217 iReports, most being reports about missing people in Haiti. People around the world came to CNN first to see the devastation that the earthquake had done. On January 13, 2010, CNN had 1.4 million page views on their iReports (Bunz, 2010). This marked a 240% increase compared to the normal amount of views the site usually recieved. Large news outlets around the world looked at CNN and even reported many of its stories. CNN was awarded with one of the most prestigious international journalism awards, the Golden Nymph, because of its great coverage during the Haiti Earthquake. The speed and coverage of the tragedy by social media platforms like, iReport, lead to the biggest and most supported relief efforts the world has ever seen.

** Mobile Donations ** The world had never seen such extensive and up-close ground level coverage like the Haiti earthquake before. Media outlets all over the world showed the horrible images of what was left after the earthquake. The constant coverage allowed organizations and individuals to put together some of the biggest donation drives ever. One of the most influential ways that organizations got people to donate was through texting. The Red Cross was the first to act. In just three hours after the earthquake the Red Cross had already launched its program that allowed people [|donate][|$10 by simply texting HAITI to 90999] (Schwartz, 2010). The Red Cross was able to raise a staggering $10 million in just 48 hours of the program starting. In the end, over $30 million was raised from the Red Cross campaign. Social media outlets and news outlets spread the word of program and contributed to the large amount of support the program received.

However, Red Cross was not the only relief effort that had success through the use of mobiles. Celebrity and Haitian born Wyclef Jean used the same concept letting people donate $5 by texting YELE to 501501 (Cashmore, 2010). Media outlets constantly reminded the public how they could donate and in many cases even provided lists of numbers to call or text to ensure that the public knew where to go. Haiti received the most support ever through texting donations. Previous natural disasters that have had donations set up through text were Hurricane Katrina, $400,000, and the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004, $200,000 (Choney, 2010). The numbers from the previous disasters are not even comparable to the amount of money the Red Cross received. Haiti was an awful disaster, but its relief efforts were able to raise amazing amounts of money through the help of constant media coverage and the use of mobile donation programs that allowed people to easily donate money without any real hassle.

=__The Negative Effects of Social Media and Haiti Relief__=

Although social media has been a great tool to help gather donations for the Haiti Relief effort, it has also been a dangerous weapon from scam artists. Social media, especially Facebook, has become an easy platform for people to set up fake charities as well as simple hoax sites promising a dollar per every person who becomes a fan of the site. People who become members of such Facebook pages are more susceptible to hackers due to the fact the admin of a Facebook group and contact all members of the group; some groups have gotten up to 1.5 million members. Joining some of these groups will also often expose your e-mail which offers a new avenue of approach for scam artist to get you. Often these false charity sites will play on a person’s emotions claiming to be helping to find families, loved ones, or even be a victim themselves. This is the largest issue that appears when dealing with social media. It becomes extremely hard to find out if a person is who they say they are online. According to msnbc.com, the Facebook Blog wrote, Beware of scams and hoaxes and ensure that your donations for Haiti get to the right places." The issue isn’t only in The United States either, because social media extends as far as internet access, one hoax charity site has a whole internet community to prey on.

=**__So, What’s the Word on Social Media?__**= =**By Carolina Mohrlock**=

It seems that the effects of social media on Haiti relief were overwhelmingly beneficial. While scammers //were// given several avenues through which to get their paws on charity money, more than not, Twitter served to weed out the bad guys by giving the good guys some killer credibility. Twitter helped give voices to celebrities offering their support and was also a huge tool in the pooling of information, including pictures and updates on the relief efforts. Twitter undoubtedly inspired people to donate, providing a live feed of in-your-face photos from the ground and preaching a new air of convenience through text message donation.

The response was quick, and that crucial element of convenience played a huge role in the overwhelming outpour of support. In the case of Haiti’s relief efforts, it was crucial that they began working quickly or else damage would have worsened and more lives would have been lost. Ultimately, people will give money if it is convenient for them, and with that convenience comes a win-win for victims and those contributing money. This is a link that might have failed to have been made prior to current surge in social media campaigns, text message donations, phone donations, and other avenues through which donations can be made on the web since this rounds relief efforts were exponentially more successful than previous attempts. 6 The ability to raise upwards of $30 million dollars in ten days is an admirable feat.6

Internet savvy people will become more and more wary of internet scammers in the future, and as one of the only cons of the social media influence on Haiti relief, we see a promising future of social media inspired growth in charity.

__** References: **__

1. 2010 Haiti Earthquake Facts. (2010, February). In Hub Pages. Retrieved November 24, 2010 2. Haiti Earthquake Overview. (2010, July 12). In New York Times. Retrieved November 24, 2010 3. Nurwisah, R. (2010, January 12). Updates From the Haiti Earthquake. The National Post. Retrieved November 22, 2010, from http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/posted/archive/2010/01/12/twitter-updates-from-the-haiti-earthquake.aspx 4. Barnes, T. (2010, January 13). Haiti earthquake: Twitter offers glimpse of the scene, lifeline of hope. The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved November 22, 2010 from http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2010/0113/Haiti-earthquake-Twitter-offers-glimpse-of-the-scene-lifeline-of-hope 5. Haiti earthquake: Twitter feeds from Port-au-Prince, elsewhere. (2010, January 12). The Washington Post. Retrieved November 23, 2010m from http://voices.washingtonpost.com/livecoverage/2010/01/haiti_earthquake_twitter_feeds.html 6. D'Zurilla, C. (2010, January 12). Earthquake in Haiti: Celebrities and fans respond on Twitter. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 23,2010, from http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/gossip/2010/01/haiti-quake-celebrities-fans-twitter.html 7. Siegel, J. (2010, January 14). Wyclef Jean's Haiti Relief Tweets Raise $1 Million. ABC News. Retrieved November 23, 2010, from http://abcnews.go.com/Business/HaitiEarthquake/wyclef-jean-haiti-relief-raises-million-twitter/story?id=9563 8. CNN, Retrieved November 21, 2010, from http://www.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/06/11/cnn.award.haiti.quake/index.html 9. Bunz, M. (2010, January 14). In Haiti earthquake coverage, social media gives victim a voice. Guardian, Retrieved November 21, 2010, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2010/jan/14/socialnetworking-haiti   10.Schwartz, D. (2010, March 31). How social media is changing the aid business. CBC News, Retrieved November 22, 2010, from http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/03/30/f-haiti-rebuild-tapscott.html 11.Cashmore, P. (2010, January 14). Haiti quake relief: How technology helps. CNN, Retrieved November 22, 2010, from http://articles.cnn.com/2010-01-14/tech/cashmore.haiti.earthquake.relief.technology_1_social-media-twitter-and-facebook-text-haiti/2?_s=PM:TECH 12. MSNBC.com (2010, January 20). Haiti earthquake: How to help. MSNBC, Retrieved November 22, 2010, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34835478/ns/world_news-haiti_earthquake  13. Choney, S. (2010, January 21). Mobile giving to help Haiti exceeds $30 million. MSNBC, Retrieved November 22, 2010, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34835478/ns/world_news-haiti_earthquake <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">14. Bob Sullivan. (Jan. 18, 2010 Facebook Full of Fake Haiti Fundraisers Retrieved Nov. 18, 2010, from [] 15. Terri Cullen. (Jan. 15, 2010) Watchdog warns of Haiti relief scams. Retrieved Nov. 18, 2010 []