A few weeks ago I blogged here, describing the power of social media to influence and change the world around us for the better. At the time citing the trivial example of the fight for the UK Christmas number one, I suggested that the same principles applied elsewhere could make a real difference. In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti we saw, on a truly humbling scale, the real power of online social communication.
On the morning on Wednesday 13th, The Red Cross tweeted to its 50,000 followers asking for funds to be donated via a simple text message. By Friday morning the message had been ‘re-tweeted’ to the extent that the appeal had raised over $35 million in donations, with $8 million coming directly from texts. Aided by celebrities and businesses also using the service, the crisis has been the most talked about subject on most social networks throughout the week.
As governments and non-government organisations around the globe scramble to the aid of the impoverished Caribbean island, it has been the online community that have responded with the speed and generosity not even matched in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina or the Asian tsunami. The ability for people to express their compassion in the digital age is both exciting and proving to be more effective than anything seen before. Aid agencies are largely ignoring the slow and ineffective mediums of TV and radio advertising, turning to services like Twitter for fast and efficient communication.
The world now looks on as a combined military and aid agency response of unprecedented scale roles into action. We all hope that the people of Haiti get the help they need as soon as possible; aid that online communities across the globe are significantly responsible for. The first humanitarian crisis of the new decade has shown many doubters that the power of social media cannot and should not be ignored.
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