Facebook comes of age with the disaster in Haiti

The earthquake that struck Haiti on Jan. 12 brought down traditional means of communication. Inside the devastated country and out, people desperate for information and help turned to new technology. They turned to Facebook, Twitter and other social-media sites. Source

Within hours of the quake, Twitter account holders had sent untold instant-message “tweets,” and scores of online groups had been created on Facebook. Members posted messages, photographs and links for those wishing to send aid. Palo Alto, Calif.-based Facebook servers received a deluge of new data.

“Haitians, once reliant on radio and word of mouth as their primary means of communication, have adapted quite well to the new media and social networks,” the New York-based Haitian Times reported on Jan. 19. “The use of social networks as a major way of communications is a first for Haitians, who have traditionally relied on radio and word of mouth as the best source of information.”

A true defining moment does not always mark the arrival of a major new advance in communication technology. But the Haitian experience proves beyond doubt that Facebook has come of age in today’s world.

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