Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

APRIL 7, 2011

The people who are in most need of information about humanitarian disasters are the organized responders. We’re not having a purely academic/technical debate: rapid humanitarian response in a disaster saves lives. Using SMS for its purported predictive capabilities would likely to have been a second disaster. Delay costs lives.

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Picture Data Disaster Map 140

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 28, 2011

We’re reacting to the following claim: “Data collected using unbounded crowdsourcing (non-representative sampling) largely in the form of SMS from the disaster affected population in Port-au-Prince can predict, with surprisingly high accuracy and statistical significance, the location and extent of structural damage post-earthquake.”

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Issue Data Haiti Stream 160

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 17, 2011

Then they used spatial statistical techniques to show that the pattern of aggregated text messages predicted where the damaged buildings were concentrated.

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Statistics Data Haiti Stream 263

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 3, 2011

In our conversation, George and his team outlined ways to use this hybrid approach for expanding social impact in Africa as well as new ideas for enterprises for following up on natural disasters in Asia for sustaining positive change after the immediate humanitarian response.

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Public Bangladesh San Francisco Asia 140

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 10, 2011

But, it might well have been that the places with the greatest damage had no power for the phone system, or people were too busy with the aftermath of the disaster, compared to more mildly affected cities with power and relatively little damage (but people texting like crazy to say they are ok).

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Literacy Disaster Phone Press 150

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 12, 2006

In any event, here is what the Army, the FRC and RisePak said was needed: - an open GPS system where notes on the disaster could be entered by GPS coordinate or by town or city or road name. - They believe that SMS will be the most important tool in the first days of any disaster.

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Pakistan Disaster Wiki Google 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 25, 2007

Funny Quote of the Day I was in a session on disaster preparedness, and the guy next to me showed me an email on his BlackBerry. I went two levels deeper into the science of my particular issues and learned about a special test developed by UC Berkeley (an hour away from where I live).

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Blackberry Test Disaster Issue 100