The Buffalo Blog

Social media - giving Haitians a voice

 

 

With traditional communication channels disrupted by the disaster in Haiti, once again social media’s importance was emphasised.

Minutes after the catastrophic earthquake hit Haiti, the power of the internet and social media started to shine through. Where more typical communication channels were affected by the quake, Haitians and aid workers alike turned to the likes of Twitter and Facebook to spread the word through the horrific scenes captured on mobile phones.

Among its multiple uses, social media in this case played a vital role in letting the world know the disastrous extent of the tragedy and that help was needed quickly in order to have the most positive effect.

Both citizens and aid workers alike uploaded TwitPics, tweeted the news and tried to find the whereabouts of loved ones on Facebook. The world turned to the platform when all other forms of communication were not an option. Even the landlines near the epicentre were wiped out by the quake, hampering rescue efforts.

Next came an outpouring of well wishes and support for the Haitian people as thousands of Facebook and Twitter updates appeared every minute. Among these updates were the appeals of the American Red Cross.

Even if you were to type "Haiti" into Twitter, Youtube or Facebook now, a few days on,  you will soon encounter @redcross’s message of appeal sent at 05:38 GMT on January 13, less than 48 hours after the tragedy.

In such a short space of time the American Red Cross was able to both set up an appeal and receive more than $35m in donations through the site.

Praise has already been awarded by the American Red Cross to the social media platform for “playing an extremely significant part” in spreading the word.

So this got me wondering, what makes Twitter, Facebook and YouTube so accommodating when communicating disasters quickly?

Well, when looking at Twitter you need to address the key advantages of the site. The main advantage is the initial barrier breakdown through the ability to communicate with anyone and everyone from celebrities to your next door neighbour.

For example famous Haitian musician, Wyclef Jean, managed to raise $1m for earthquake victims, after appealing for help from his 1.3 million followers through Twitter. People like Michelle Obama were also contacted by aid charities, first through tweeting then retweeting appeals, further spreading the message.

Meanwhile on Youtube, there was an influx in bloggers posting their own appeals and calling for donations. On Facebook, awareness groups, such as Earthquake Haiti gained over hundreds of thousands of members, linking them directly to charity sites.

These examples show how social media is set on continuing to play an important role in the communication of disasters, keeping the news at the forefront of the public agenda whilst it starts to slip off of the front pages of the Tabloids and fade out of the media’s spotlight.

In keeping with the trend, please pass the word on and visit British Red Cross

Android - the dawn of open-source mobile

The launch of Google’s Android mobile phone operating system only serves to further enforce where the industry and the business world as a whole is going. The principles expounded in the popular Wikinomics book are playing out before our very eyes in what is a highly exciting time for all those involved in the IT industry.

Open source, in phones, DTP applications, enterprise software and so on, is undoubtedly the future of software provision and it’s the canny companies, the ones that are getting involved now, who will steal a march in their particular industries.

Google’s endorsement of open source has been unwavering and Android only enforces this stance. It will be highly interesting to see how well the platform takes off but one only needs look back a few years for a prediction. Just look at the popularity of the page-editing possibilities on MySpace – people love customisation and will lap up new modifications and tools.

But what does this mean for the rest of the phone industry. Well, there are numerous very nice phones with decent operating systems on the market at the moment but none have the potential of the Android platform to truly change the way the industry thinks, Apple included.

I have often wondered why Apple and Google didn’t pair up to create the iPhone’s operating system. Two companies with a similar creative, innovative and cutting edge ethos could have created something truly beautiful and completely unstoppable. Granted, Apple would have to go somewhere it’s never gone before but the outcome of not exploring this route could be dangerous. As it is Apple’s beautiful though it is, but closed-source, closed device, iPhone will be up against a potentially massive force.

Having said this, it’s never to late to get involved. The beauty of Android is that it can be adapted and modified to suit any new phone. HTC’s privilege being the first phone to launch with Android it a real coup. No matter how good their proprietary systems are, canny companies will be giving Google a call – I wonder if Apple will one of them...    

A shift in power as Vodafone shares plummet?

Vodafone has lost almost £11 billion from its stock as it begins to feel the pinch of the economic slowdown. After the company announced a revision in its revenue forecast, shares fell by move than 13 percent.

While Telefónica SA, the parent company of O2 also lost around 7 percent of its own value, it may still be in a stronger long-term position. The most oblivious advantage is its proprietary deal with Apple, bringing the iPhone to the UK and Spain and 14 other countries as sole vendor. Evidence of strategic success came with great initial iPhone sales and its posting of a 22 percent increase in net profits for Q1 this year.

It might be said that Vodafone has spread itself too thinly with recent purchases in Ghana and a huge joint investment in Alltel ($21.8bn). Indeed, the Times reports that "Vodafone’s revenue growth in emerging markets and the Pacific region slackened from 12.6 per cent in the previous quarter to 9.2 per cent". However, investments in fast growing areas like India could still pay off and turn things around.

While it’s clear that the sudden slump has knocked confidence across the sector, it remains to be seen what long term implications these two very different companies and their very different business models will have for the telecommunications market as a whole.