The worst earthquake to hit the Caribbean in 200 years struck Haiti on Tuesday 12th January 2010. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck near the Haitian Capital of Port-au-Prince, where it devastated the tiny nation, causing an unknown number of deaths and widespread destruction.
Social Media was the first to tell the story
Despite being the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti’s Internet connected devices were key implements in telling the rest of the globe about the emerging crisis.
Twitter was a key tool for distributing images and information from Haiti — just as it has been in a number of other crises across the globe. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that images sent via Twitpic and other Twitter-based photo services were hitting the Internet long before news agencies produced anything similar. And as Haitian officials were giving their reports on what happened, eyewitness accounts from Haitians in messages of 140 characters or less were already widespread. People were given further insight when the Los Angeles Times published a list of Twitter users believed to be tweeting from Haiti.
WordPress
A WordPress-powered blog called Haitifeed is also delivering a steady stream of first-hand accounts as well as mainstream media reports from across the globe.
On Facebook, a group called Earthquake Haiti now has over 230,000 members. The group is largely being used for people to show support and trade news reports; however, there are some users who seem to be posting critical information including pleas for help to injured Haitians.
Skype
With telephone service toppled due to the earthquake, those on the ground turned to Skype to speak with the media, aid organisations, or to communicate with loved ones overseas. A Connecticut-based missionary organization that works in Haiti used Skype to communicate with their people there to get a sense of the devastation. Pedre also used Skype to give CBS News and many other media organizations a first-hand report about Haiti’s crisis.
Social media tools are emerging as a new type of news media, especially during times of crisis communications, were such channels are being used to primarily disseminate information about the happenings to the rest of the world as and when it is happening. Even US Rappers such as Busta Rhymes, P Diddy, Kanye West use their fame via social media platforms to urge donations and spread the word to fans and followers alike http://hhboard.ihiphop.com/hip-hop-news/456798-diddy-kanye-west-tony-yayo-more-plead-haiti-earthquake-relief.html
Big names in the digital/ media industry provide aid and resources for those in Haiti
When any worldwide disaster happens, thousands of global organisations offer charitable aid in the form of donations, supplies or workers. I have decided to highlight and briefly evaluate the fastest moving organisations to pledge their aid in the days since the disaster occurred.
Apple has placed a “Haiti Earthquake Relief Donate Here” button on iTunes urging the users to donate funds.
Dell that has announced a corporate cash donation of $500,000 and an extra $250,000 worth of employee donations, as well as its intention to find further ways of offering assistance. Dell has created a special link on its site that will easily allow any visitor to take part in the relief and aid efforts in any way, however small. People at Dell are even volunteering for organised efforts within their respective communities and are reaching out directly to customers and partners with operations in the country.
Google has announced via its blog its pledge of $1,000,000. Google has also inserted a Spotlight on the homepage of its video streaming site YouTube to drive traffic to videos from Oxfam International and the American Red Cross.
Go Daddy the US internet leader donated $500,000 dollars in aid. Go Daddy sent a cheque for $500,000 to Hope for Haiti, an organisation committed to making a difference in Haiti by focusing on education, nutrition and healthcare. Go Daddy is based in Scottsdale, Ariz. and is the world’s largest domain name registrar and a leading Web hosting provider. The Web giant is bigger than its five closest competitors combined and in spite of its reputation for edgy commercials, Go Daddy has leveraged its success to help others again and again over the years.In fact, Go Daddy has a history of jumping in to help generate financial support for victims of natural disasters, including contributions to Thailand tsunami victims in 2004, Katrina hurricane victims in 2005 and Iowa flood victims in 2008. Last year alone, Go Daddy donated nearly $2.5 million to a wide variety of charities, including those aimed at medical research, domestic violence and education.
The Hewlett-Packard Company Foundation announced today that they have pledged $500,000 to the American Red Cross International Response Fund. The money will go to supporting relief efforts.
Microsoft has committed $1.25 million towards the relief efforts which includes cash and in-kind contributions, while its Bing Homepage includes a Haiti disaster-relief link.
Mobile Giving – In 36 hours, donations made via mobile phones for Haiti Earthquake Relief surpassed $7 million across all the short codes managed by the Mobile Giving Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping other non-profits raise funds through mobile. As more organizations support relief efforts in Haiti, additional short codes are available for making monetary donations to help those affected by the recent earthquake. By texting a keyword to a designated short code via a mobile phone, a micro-donation of $5 or $10 can be made to aid the millions of people affected by this tragedy. 100% of your donation goes to the recipient charity, and the donation appears as a charge on your carrier bill, standard rates may apply. According to the latest press release issued on Sunday 17th January donations made via mobile phones for Haiti Earthquake Relief surpassed $16 million across all the short codes managed by the Mobile Giving Foundation, with $10 million being donated over the weekend alone!.
Over the weekend mobile donations increased from $10 million reported by MGF on Friday to more than $16 million. The Foundation noted that it continues to see donations come in at an increasing pace. MGF will report numbers again on Monday.
T Mobile USA came forward and is offering its customers free international long distance calls to and from Haiti from January 12th, 2010 through January 31, 2010. T-Mobile is also pledging to donate much needed wireless equipment, including generators and wireless phones, to help restore Haiti’s communications infrastructure.
The Thomson Reuters Foundation has today (18th January) launched a first-of-its kind, free disaster-information service for the people of Haiti. The service allows survivors of Haiti’s earthquake to receive critical information by text message directly to their phones, free of charge. To register, survivors subscribing to the Digicell network, the largest in the Caribbean, simply text their location to the SMS shortcode 4636. By return, up-to-date, reliable, actionable information will be sent to them wherever they are in Haiti, helping them to reach shelter, aid and loved ones. The service will cost them nothing. The service also acts as a news and information gathering mechanism, whereby survivors can report information directly into the EIS team of specialist journalists. The EIS team will collate this information and it will by made available to agencies, emergency teams and local media.
Streambox is making its Streambox Live™ video sharing service available free of charge to emergency relief organizations, government and military operations, and broadcasters. Using only a camera, a laptop equipped with the Streambox Live software, and a low-bandwidth IP connection, these organizations can capture and stream live video in a secure fashion. The capability can help first responder organizations create the situational awareness they need to build a comprehensive disaster response and recovery plan.
PR Newswire, the global leader in innovative communications and marketing services has waived distribution fees through to midnight on Sunday, January 17 2010 for organizations that wish to communicate their efforts of assistance to media and public audiences in the UK, US, Latin American, the Caribbean and globally in English, in addition to the many academics, activists, CSR investment houses, NGOs, educational institutions and government bodies served by PR Newswire’s corporate social responsibility partner, CSRwire.
To view news releases issued by PR Newswire members offering aid, please visit: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/earthquake-in-haiti-latest-news-81309442.html under Earthquake in Haiti.
The Walt Disney Company has donated $100,000 to the Red Cross International Fund, to support Haiti’s earthquake relief efforts.
ZTE Corporation, a leading global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, announced that it has delivered solar-powered handsets and its GoTa trunking system to the Haiti government to provide much needed communication equipment needed for aid efforts for the victims of the earthquake that hit Haiti on January 14. The Company has confirmed that its 11 employees stationed in Haiti are safe and in a healthy condition. ZTE has contacted the employees’ families to keep them informed of the current situation.
Which organisations are giving the best support?
Whilst out of those organisations the thousands of dollars donated are substantial amounts, which will in undoubtedly make a valuable difference to restoring the lives of those in Haiti, but what does this look like as a percentage of the company’s resources? Let’s look at an example:
In 2009, The Walt Disney Company had revenues of $36,149,000,000, according to their SEC filings. And revenue is perhaps the fairest place to make our comparison. Disney has expenses that are paid out of that revenue (labor, equipment, inventory, etc) but then again so does a normal family, if we consider the amount an individual person may give for personal ‘overheads’ (rent, food, clothes, medicine, etc).
Disney’s contribution to Haitian relief works out at 0.0003% of their 2009 income, so a UK family (based on a family of 4, with two adults earning an average income of 75k) should be sending the charity of their choice approximately 30 pence!!
For me based on a calculation like this it is a prime example of how organisations like Disney cash in from the Corporate Social Responsibility value of donating to such causes. For a company whose revenues lie in the Multi millions a donation of a few hundred thousand is as easy at is for someone like you and I to donate less than a pound!!
Whilst any organisation who is supporting to Haiti gets my utmost respect. I believe that those who are donating a service, sending workers to Haiti in addition to monetary donations (like T Mobile and Dell) will be better welcomed by the public. If you are interested to read a further summary about the biggest US Companies supporting Haiti check out: http://www.businesspundit.com/corporate-america-goes-good-25-big-companies-donating-millions-to-haiti/
