The massive earthquake in Haiti shaking up to a 7.0 on the Richter scale saw the social media world unite as both  tech companies and individuals do their part in supporting the Haiti earthquake relief efforts, dramatically altering the perceived value of social media. It can really save lives.

  Image source: Wikipedia

Here's a quick review of how social media was utilised throughout the entire incident:
 

1. Earliest source of awareness

Many (myself including), heard about the earthquake not from any major news network but from Twitter itself. Before any news network could report about the earthquake, Frederic Dupoux was alerting the world of the tremors via Twitter.

"Oh… heavy earth quake right now! in Haiti," he first tweeted from Frere, a suburb of Port-au-Prince. Over the course of the next few days, he continued to tweet about the current situation and continued plea for professional medical help. (Source: SunSuntinel.com).

2. Speedy fund-raising

The most popular method people have been using is mGive. The service allows you to donate to support the Red Cross Haiti relief effort by simply texting HAITI to 90999 to give $10. The donation is then simply added to your mobile phone bill. As of 19 January, nearly 2.5 million people texted in their $10 donation to the Red Cross for the Haitian relief campaign, raising more than $24 million of donation pledges. Considering the speed at which the amount was raised, both generosity and technology was required to achieve this little feat.

3. Information to assist rescue efforts

During the earthquake, tweets on locations with survivors (with precise latitude and longtitude) were helpful for rescue operations. There were also tweets describing the situation on the ground which is helpful information for rescue missions:

Photos and videos were helpful for visual details to plan rescue routes.

4. Missing / Survivor List

Tweets were also used to broadcast names of both missing family members and friends, in hope that someone would find them.

Conversely, survivors also used social media tools to let their family and friends know they are alive.

Conclusion

The advent of the Haiti earthquake changed the way the world perceive the tangible values of social media. We can only wonder how much more painful the disaster would have been if social media didn't exist.