Social Media Week: Haiti Journalists Point To A Need For Better Mobile Connectivity
Last night we stopped by The New York Times to listen in on a panel discussing social media and how it was used in Haiti for reporting and organizing aid efforts. As we all know, Twitter has played a big part in international events like this and the Iran protests. One important point that was brought up was the difficulty of connectivity, whether it be lack of reception, or simply not enough power outlets for recharging.
NBC's Ann Curry told stories about how Twitter has broken down walls for her in reporting and directing the public's attention. Because of its asymmetric social construct, she has been able to meet with people spur-of-the-moment upon realizing their presence. During Haiti, people state-side would direct her to the locations that needed help.
Again, in order to keep this powerful new means of communication, or "global consciousness" up, batteries are required. Erik Parker, a journalist who was in Haiti when the earthquake struck, discussed his experience politely fighting and jockeying for one of few power outlets. He described it as frustrating, not being able to send tweets, photos, and other information out.
We didn't know what to do with ourselves after the earthquake. The first thing I could think to do was to see if there was someplace where we could provide help. The second thing I could think to do was to document it. I resorted to using my iPhone to record video.
Without energy, the mobile devices that empower so many in third-world countries would be useless. We take for granted having outlets in every room, but for those in places like Uganda and Kabul, access is provided differently. For Jan Chipchase's photo documentation of this, click here.
As we're seeing in emerging products and technological developments, there is hope in creating a better powered mobile phone. Engineers at Princeton University are harnessing natural body movements to power mobile devices, and companies like Sharp aim to take their solar powered cellphones worldwide. Hopefully these solutions will make it in time to aid in any future crisis situations.
