Just before 5 p.m. on Wednesday, January 13^th, a magnitude-7 earthquake struck Port-au-Prince, Haiti, flattening hundreds of buildings and killing as many as 100,000 people. Within minutes, the news had spread to Facebook and Twitter. Within hours, Google Earth and had uploaded post-quake satellite images, giving anyone with computer access a firsthand look at the breathtaking wreckage. Bing's Virtual Earth plans to follow suit.

 

"In terms of information and awareness, this is the most immediate disaster we've ever had," says Marguerite Madden, a geography professor at University of Georgia who co-chairs the Gi4DM summit, where attendees discuss how to leverage spatial images during times of crisis. "Within 24 hours, it was literally everywhere."

 

As relief workers struggle to help Haitians in need and loved ones panic from abroad, several Web sites--including the aforementioned power players--have released apps and images that are "absolutely crucial" to crisis management in Haiti, says Madden. And text message-based systems have become an integral part of donations.

 

This interesting article on www.fastcompany.com takes an in-depth look at several online facilities, including: Google Earth; Google Map Maker; Haiti-Quake; Facebook; Twitter and Text to Donate programs.  The article examines how they work, and who they help.

 

Read the full article here: http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/dan-macsai/popwise/haiti-earthquake-google-maps-web-tech