Social Media as Disaster Relief

The earthquake that struck Haiti in January 2010 dealt a catastrophic blow to an already beleaguered nation.  Almost immediately after the devastating quake mobile phone technology became a critical means of registering and routing requests for specific types of relief aid via text messaging.
 
Social media have begun to develop into powerful tools in areas experiencing natural disasters, civic violence, and other emergency situations.  Using Haiti as the site for exploring the use of interactive telecommunications as a component of response efforts, students were asked to speculate on the possible architectural implications of this emerging technology. 
Responses included establishing a network of communication relay structures that would serve to both virtually and visually link key points in the city, an interactive website to aid people in locating friends and families in times of emergency, and a system that would allow community members the opportunity to voice their thoughts on post-disaster community needs.