Publishers Note: PoliticsOnline published its first "Tsunami and the Web" report on December 31, 2004, six days after the first waves struck. The global response from our subscribers was overwhelming. This second edition is a continuation of our coverage and analysis. We expect to publish at least one more report in the near future.

We encourage all of you to send us any related information that you think would be interesting to others. Unfortunately, PoliticsOnline had scheduled a major technical overhaul for this time, which may temporarily prevent visitors from accessing our website, but you can still always reach us by email: editor@PoliticsOnline.com.

For the past two weeks, the World Wide Web has looked like a large ant colony after their anthill had been kicked over. The individual efforts of hundreds of thousands of people have come together to begin to rebuild what the earthquake and tsunami has torn apart. A real community consciousness quickly developed and people all over the globe came together using online resources to help however they could.

What happened was really quite amazing and nothing like it has ever happened before. We saw the truly enormous potential of the Internet come to life - the power of the Internet to instantaneously link millions of people together in a common and concerted effort with real and tangible results.

The aggregation of individual compassion leveraged with empowering ideas and technology led to specific actions - it created an online tsunami of activism and participation - unleashing a flood of money, of talent and of action. Although the tsunami ended the lives of many people from many different countries, the online relief efforts gave birth to a new type of global citizen participation and action.

Now that it has happened once in response to the tsunami, it will happen again and again and again in response to other events, political issues, and global crisis.

Tsunami Crisis Cycle Net's Role Evolves During Disaster Click on a topic for an example Early Warnings Early Reporting Call For Help Relief/Volunteer Coordination Relief Efforts Feedback Facilitating Grieving Call For Future Prevention

No one knows where it will lead.

Welcome to the new age of globally empowered citizens.

Phil Noble
Publisher

1. The Blogs Were Where The Action Happened.

An article from The Guardian perfectly frames the picture of how the army of ants worked together:

"It would be obscene if we did not remember this tsunami as first and foremost a huge natural disaster, a human tragedy on an unimaginable scale. But for those watching this small, comparatively insignificant world of media, it was also a time when citizen reporting, through the force of its huge army of volunteers and their simple type and publish weblog mechanisms, finally found its voice, and delivered in a way the established media simply could not.

Each blogger [often] worked by themselves, perhaps only with the intention of telling friends and family they were still alive. But their accounts and links to each other were rapidly aggregated by the blog infrastructure - services such as Technorati and Blogdex - or pulled together by bigger blogs such as Instapundit, or gathered together in print, to form a vivid picture of events half a world away."

Clearly the role of the Internet is constantly changing and building on itself. Hours before the tsunami struck it was used to send early warning signals. Later it was used to report on the immediate impact of the tsunami. Those efforts soon turned into relief efforts calling for volunteers and online donations.

Amazingly that technology that best connects individuals throughout the world might also be the best medium to facilitate also the necessary steps during a crisis management (See the box on the right for how the cycle has flowed). And it was bloggers who were largely the links that completed the full circle of events that took place (and continue) during the tsunami relief efforts.

The relief efforts are the greatest role the Internet is playing, but there are now more signs of the Internet being used to help people grieve, and also to prevent so many lives being lost the next time a disaster hits.

2. In Hours SEA-EAT Went From An Idea To The Center Of A Global Network.

It's not necessary to span the entire web to witness the cycling role of the Internet. The SEA-EAT blog, is a prime example of how technology changes with the needs of victims. In fact, the story of how it has spontaneously developed by people thousands of miles apart is testament to the Internet's evolution.

Shortly after Paola di Maio survived the tsunami's impact on the beach in Phuket, Thailand, he used the Internet to contact Peter Griffin, a communications consultant in Mumbai, India. The two realized that the most pressing need was for accurate information and in less than 12 hours after the initial earthquake the two (along with others) set up SEA-EAT blog, or The Southeast Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog, according to Asia Times.

SEA-EAT quickly moved to the 10th most visited Humanitarian site on the Internet, indicating that blogging is capable of expanding its influence into the realm of online fundraising. The site experienced an increase in market share of visits by 1,926 percent between Dec. 27 and Dec. 31, 2004, according to Hitwise. As of Jan. 13, the blog had registered 1.8 million visits and continues to grow in contributions and readership.

3. The Internet Transformed Giving On A Global Scale.

Private U.S. Donations Equals U.S. Government Donations Listed below are U.S. organizations that received some of the largest donations. American Red Cross - $168.5-million, $71.5-million online U.S. Unicef - $35-million, $25-million online Save the Children - $23-million in contributions, $9.5-million online Catholic Relief Services - $21-million, $10-million online World Vision USA - $20-million, $11-million online Oxfam America - $6-million, $12-million online CARE USA -- $16-million, $6.1-million online Mercy Corps -- $10-million, $5-million online Doctors Without Borders -- $20-million, $16-million online Source: Chronicle of Philanthropy as of 1/11/2005

The Internet has fundamentally changed how concerned people respond to disasters and the change is probably most noticeable in the way donations were given. Online donations continue to be one of the greatest drivers of the relief efforts, because money can be transferred almost instantly to the area of need. Although past methods disaster fundraising have been effective, such as by mail or telethon pledging, it does not compare with the efficiency of online donations.

The flood of credit card donations through relief websites was largest during the first week after the disaster. According to Hitwise, the market share of U.S. visits to humanitarian Web sites skyrocketed 180 percent the week ending Jan. 1, 2005 versus the prior week.

Humanitarian sites peaked on Dec. 30, 2004, when visits accounted for .096 percent of all daily Internet traffic. The heavy traffic was sign a heavy amount of online donations.

In 10 days time, online contributions were enough to set U.S. private donations on par with the United States government pledge of $350 million. An article from the Mercury News suggests U.S. online donations, "might even have shamed the government into catching up."

In article on Oxfam, Slate gives an example of how online giving prevails citing another recent disaster:

"Oxfam points out another entrenched problem that might be fixed by the new, philanthropic infrastructure of the Internet: deadbeat donors. The United Nations received barely half of the $32.6 million pledged toward its last major aid campaign, following the Iranian earthquake in December 2003. Most of the online contributions to tsunami relief were not pledges, but donations by credit card-not much chance of delinquency there. Hopefully the donor nations will follow suit."

A recent Network for Good survey said online giving grew last year to about $2 billion. Although the current numbers are astonishing, online giving for tsunami relief efforts could top $1 billion in less than a month. Online donations worldwide were estimated at around $750 million by Jan. 10, according to Kintera. John Hartman, Kintera's vice president of client relations believes the majority of these donors are first time online donors and first time donors to these specific organizations. Hartman also notes that Kintera is seeing a clear average gift of over $100. And because the Internet has transferred the donations so quickly, funds almost instantly went to use in areas that needed immediate help.

Internet donations were only about 5 percent of the total raised for Sept. 11 victims, according to Slate.

4. NGO's Can Move Beyond Simple Online Giving To Setting Global Standards.

Although the online giving has slowed, activists are still calling for groups to take steps to ensure relief monies keep flowing. NGO's still have the potential to raise millions of dollars more, but the tsunami disaster has also evolved into an event that's setting the global standard for online fundraising.

Credit Card Companies Should Give, Not Profit From Disasters
U.K. Liberal Democrat Vince Cable MP has an idea that could spur more online donations by individuals. Responding to news that credit card companies will potentially make money from the transaction charges on donations to the tsunami appeal, Cable said: "We are concerned that the lack of sensitivity by credit card companies will cause a strong public reaction unless quick action is taken to waive charges."

Activists believe that if credit card companies made this type of announcement, it wouldl inspire people to continue donating.

Relief Organizations Should Use The Web To Stay Transparent
Many online donors are concerned how much of their contribution actually goes to the front lines of the relief and are not used for administrative or other organizational costs. To ensure trust, relief groups need provide finance tracking through their websites, that not only shows how costs are broken down, but also how the money flows from start to finish. There is little tracking information currently available on the web, but there are signs of progress.

According to Slate, financial details from the IRS can be found at GuideStar.org. And InterAction has detailed and tremendously useful summaries of what more than 160 American groups have planned in the affected areas and what's already under way.

The United Nations, an organization that has received harsh criticism for lack of transparency and accountability, is in the process of devising a system for the Internet "that would enable the broader public to track the flow of money "from pledge to project"." If the U.N. moves quickly, its system could be a model (or provide a free tool) for how tsunami relief groups might accomplish this mission.

Local Bloggers Should Take On Role Of Private Investigators
Activist also hope that the Asian bloggers who first gave the world eyewitness accounts of the horrid scenes created by the tsunami, will evolve into watchdogs for the individuals who donated to the relief efforts. Bloggers who are monitoring independently of relief organizations can report to the world through their blogs if packages got deliver and if relief efforts went as promised. Concerned bloggers can easily use the Internet to facilitate this type of feedback loop to donors, but will be most credible if they remain independent of the organizations.

There are already positive signs of bloggers fulfilling the feedback loop. For example, Rohit Gupta from the worldchanging.com website said in an Asia Times Online interview from Bombay that Sri Lankan bloggers Morquendi and LastNode are building a Short Message Service (SMS) news and alert service, where they are recruiting more citizen reporters at wavesofhope.org.

Clearing House Should Be Created For Scams Or Suspicious Online Activity
As of January 6th, The FBI reports there have been 419 scam emails circulating, according to The Register. Guidestar can also verify whether an organization is a registered non-profit in the U.S. An online consumer reports or Better Business Bureau concerning online giving sites.

As relief workers, who are delivering aid throughout affected areas, report back to the blogoshpere, many are realizing that a basic technology infrastructure could have saved lives. In response, many in the online community are using the event to call for an end to the Digital Divide, in order to use technology to save more lives in the event of future disasters.

5. The Technology Is Available To Bridge The Digital Divide. And We Must Do It For An Effective Global Early Warning System.

A recent essay by Andy Carvin (http://tsunami-info.org), calls for the Tsunami disaster to be used as a "Wake-up Call" to bridge the digital divide. Carvin writes that had the technology been in place in certain areas hit by tsunami, it "could have actually saved lives."

Though country leaders are in discussions of creating early-warning systems, Internet activists are already working on such a task. The Alert Retrieval Cache is one such idea that allows individuals using text messages to alert an email list an impending danger. ARC programmers are working to make the system compatible with mobile phones, rather than just email.

Test Pilots?
Similar ARC technology called TxTMob was first developed by the Institute for Applied Autonomy for protestors at the Democratic National Convention in Boston and the Republican National Convention in New York. TxTMob lets you quickly and easily share txt messages with friends, comrades, and total strangers.

Motorola has just announced a deal with Apple to produce a phone that works with the iTunes service and other hybrid gadgets that sport a big memory and lots of other functions will become commonplace. In light of the horrific tsunami tragedy, it might be a good idea for the two companies to research how their technology can be used to send out 'early warning messages' to customers who might be in harms way.

Carvin also advocates for more local telecenters in rural areas. In one instance, though many homes were destroyed, the entire 500 family village in Nallavadu, India was saved because an indvidual used the telecenter's public address system to spring the community into action. (You can access an insightful 90-minute webcast on the role of ICTs in tsunami relief efforts, moderated by Carvin, by clicking here.

USA Today Technology Columnist Kevin also purported that cell phones and the Net could have saved lives, "If only a smattering of locals had gotten a warning by text message or cell call, they no doubt would've screamed alarms out to family and neighbors. Hundreds or thousands fewer people might've died."

Not Necessarily Latest, But Working Technology
However, it doesn't take the latest technology to save lives during disasters, just technology that works. Ham radio came to the rescue in tsunami-hit Andaman when Bharati Prasad, India's foremost amateur ham radio operator, began using her signals to alert family about missing persons.

6. People Increasingly Go Online To Find Others, And To Grieve.

Deathtoll On Jan 12 (All figures are preliminary) Countries Deaths Injured Bangladesh 2 East Africa 137* India 15,766** Indonesia 106,500 up to 100,000 Malaysia 74 299 Maldives 74 Myanmar 59 45 Sri Lanka 30,721 14,637 Thailand 5,305 8,457 Total 158,638 - Source: Reuters * This figure includes Kenya, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania and Madagascar. ** Indian figure includes missing and presumed dead.

There was an online community conscious after Sept. 11 that helped victims, friends and family cope with their losses. Hundreds of message boards and online memorials were created to remember and help the grieving process. With thousands still missing, it is still too early for this to become widespread in Asia, but there are already signs of how the internet is being used to help the world deal with what took place.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) took an early lead in reporting on the tsunami, using its news website to publish first-hand blog reports and images from many eyewitnesses accounts, and continues publishing the world's personal experiences. Their collection of online news and information is arguably the most definitive resource of all the major media companies, which can be attributed to their emphasis on interactivity. A number of BBC "Have Your Say" topics allow anyone to tell their story of what they witnessed, how they feel, or what they're doing now to help with relief efforts.

Channel News Asia also allows readers to send condolences to victims. It is a therapeutic way of using the web. While many of the victims will never read the messages, it allows those who were traumatized by the events to let the grieving process begin.

7. The Tsunami Disaster Was A Breakout Moment For Vlogging And Wikis.

Although the impact of online donations has been proven in political campaigning, the tsunami disaster is quite possibly a breakout for other tools for all types of online campaigning.

Vlogging
Video blogs were expected to rise in popularity during the coming year, however tsunami films propelled the trend quicker than anticipated. The Wall Street Journal writes one of many examples of a blog that surged in traffic when it began posting tsunami videos.

"When twenty-one-year-old Jordan Golson launched his Web diary, or blog, in early December, his conservative views on news and politics weren't exactly in demand, attracting about 10 surfers a day. But by last Thursday, he was struggling to keep his site named "Cheese and Crackers" up and running as it racked up 640,000 hits.

The difference: tsunami videos."

Vlogging has yet to break through to the same level that blogs did in 2004, mainly for two reasons: bandwidth and copyrights. First, videos take up a lot of a lot of space when streamed or downloaded which can be costly, especially for amateur bloggers. Second, amateur footage can easily find its way on the web, but once its there, the authors rights are often overlooked. Mark Glaser suggests the need for a repository and hosting service for important amateur videos.

Wikis
Long before history books will record this disaster, wikis will use the personal tales of victims and onlookers to piece together the entire event including before, during, and after the quake and tsunami. A wiki is piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser. Wiki supports hyperlinks and has simple text syntax for creating new pages and crosslinks between internal pages on the fly.

The most popular wiki on the tsunami has been developed by the creators of the SEA-EAT blog. The "Indian Ocean Disaster Relief Portal" lists humanitarian aid resources to help victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. The wiki, which allows anyone to insert or change information on the tsunami, has quickly pieced together one of the largest natural disasters in modern history.

Coming Full Circle

Even before the first waves hit the Asian coasts, Internet communications and SMS text messages were sending warnings on the approaching tsunami. Although the online communications were not as effective as they could have been, it has been a life-line for the surviving victims. Though bloggers were largely credited with spreading early news of the disaster, the online donations (money, talents and time) of millions of concern global citizens are driving the relief efforts. Online information is also bringing the events full circle, with feedback of live reports on what's taking place when the aid arrives, and with discussions of how to use technology to save lives in the future.

Stay tuned to PoliticsOnline for further analysis of the tsunami and the web. Please contact us by email if you wish to send us information. PoliticsOnline will alert subscribers by email when its website is returned to public access.

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