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The "ordered" list of these articles is available here:
http://www.tsunamihelp.info/wiki/index.php/In_the_media
Asia Media
The Asia Pacific Media Network
http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=19069
WORLD: In time of disaster, bloggers make their mark
As worry-struck families attempt to find loved ones in South and Southeast Asia, Internet weblogs are proving to be valuable sources of fast, reliable information about tsunamis
Taipei Times
Thursday, December 30, 2004
The tsunami in Phuket left Paola di Maio with little more than 4 liters of water but, crucially, an Internet connection. As the information systems designer and her friends helped with the rescue effort while helicopters buzzed overhead, she realized that one thing was missing: information.
Together with Dina Mehta, Peter Griffin and a small band of other Internet enthusiasts in the region, including students from New Delhi and a TV producer in Sri Lanka, Di Maio set up SEA-EAT, the South East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami weblog. Visited by 21,000 people Tuesday, it has fast become the key online clearing house for people to share information and contact details.
While government hotlines jam or ring unanswered and international aid efforts appear uncoordinated, desperate relatives have gone online to search for their loved ones or simply to help the aid effort.
At the scene of the disaster, survivors have also bypassed official communication channels. As well as virtual noticeboards, hundreds of actual noticeboards have sprung up. Names, numbers, photographs and appeals for information about missing friends and relatives have been pinned up outside hospitals and beside resorts in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and India.
The founders of the virtual rescue centers such as SEA-EAT are not surprised that people are turning to the Internet, with its instantly and succinctly published information offering everything from contact numbers of consulates to details about how to get a portable toilet.
"The Internet is being used more and more by the families of victims because it is faster and the communication is much more effective," said Ankit Gupta, one of SEA-EAT's volunteers based in New Delhi. "One always comes across red tape no matter what in our third world countries."
Di Maio said governments and aid agencies could use the Web far more.
"The Internet, reasonably reliable and fast, is not used by authorities nor rescue services to communicate, despite the fact that it has been up without interruption during the entire crisis. Governments and authorities should use the Internet as we do. Costs would be lower and results much better coordinated."
Another online volunteer, Bala Pitchandi, stayed up until midnight at his home in New Jersey in the US helping to publish information on SEA-EAT.
"Blogging is such a powerful tool since it can be used by ordinary people like me to publish views and news," he said. "Dozens of volunteers who have never met have gotten together to start this and many of the contributors are there at the scene to help the world know what's really going on."
CTV.ca
Fri. Dec. 31 2004 2:27 PM ET
Web plays crucial role in tsunami aftermath
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1104516948589_35?hub=World
CTV.ca News Staff
Meanwhile, the South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami site (SEA-EAT) blog has become a clearinghouse for disaster relief.
Peter Griffin, a writer and blogger living in Bombay came up with the idea. Rohit Gupta is one of three bloggers working on the site.
"We're getting out information that traditional media has not access to," Gupta told Information Week. "Certain areas have been cordoned off to traditional media by the Tamil Tigers," he said.
The site has 50 contributors from around the world and has had more than 100,000 visitors in the past few days.
For most blogs, 1,000 daily page views is considered fairly busy. Now, organizers are working to keep up with growth and demand.
The Star Online TechCenter - Malaysia Technology
Friday December 31, 2004
Tsunami: Blogs come of age
http://www.star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2004/12/31/technology/9781198&sec=technology
By PATRICK BARKHAM
LONDON: The tsunami in Phuket left Paola di Maio with little more than four litres of water but, crucially, an Internet connection. As the information systems designer and her friends helped with the rescue effort while helicopters buzzed overhead, she realised that one thing was missing: Information.
Together with Dina Mehta, Peter Griffin, and a small band of other Internet enthusiasts in the region, including students from New Delhi and a TV producer in Sri Lanka, Di Maio set up SEA-EAT, the South East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami weblog (http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com/).
It has fast become the key online clearinghouse for people to share information and contact details.
While government hotlines jam or ring unanswered and international aid efforts appear uncoordinated, desperate relatives have gone online to search for their loved ones or simply to help the aid effort.
At the scene of the disaster, survivors have also bypassed official communication channels. As well as virtual noticeboards, hundreds of actual noticeboards have sprung up. Names, numbers, photographs and appeals for information about missing friends and relatives have been pinned up outside hospitals and beside resorts in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and India.
The founders of the virtual rescue centres such as SEA-EAT are not surprised that people are turning to the Net, with its instantly and succinctly published information offering everything from contact numbers of consulates to details of how to get a portable toilet.
"The Internet is being used more and more by the families of victims because it is faster and the communication is much more effective," said Ankit Gupta, one of SEA-EAT's volunteers based in New Delhi.
"One always comes across red tape no matter what in our Third World countries."
Govts lagging
Di Maio said governments and aid agencies could use the Web far more.
"The Internet, reasonably reliable and fast, is not used by authorities nor rescue services to communicate, despite the fact that it has been up without interruption during the entire crisis. Governments and authorities should use the Internet as we do.
"Costs would be lower and results much better coordinated," she said.
Another online volunteer, Bala Pitchandi, stayed up until midnight at his home in New Jersey in the United States helping to publish information on SEA-EAT.
"Blogging is such a powerful tool since it can be used by ordinary people like me to publish views and news," he said.
"Dozens of volunteers who have never met have gotten together to start this blog and many of the contributors are there at the scene of tragedy to help the world know what's really going on. Traditional news outlets have to be 'politically correct,' but blogs are honest and true to the word."
Weblogs are also being used to direct aid. Sanjay, a blogger and TV producer from Sri Lanka, texted his friends as he helped with the aid effort. They posted his observations online.
"One thing I discovered in speaking to the displaced people there who are living in the temples and churches and schools is that they need clothes as much as food and water," he wrote.
"I guess this is something a lot of us tend to overlook. And there is a severe shortage of undergarments. Not a joke. Specially for the women. I guess no one thinks of it as a need but a lot of people are finding it very, very difficult."
With the Foreign Office's overloaded helpline often ringing unanswered, many have discovered their holidaying relatives are safe via text message.
Those caught up in the chaos or worried about relatives overseas have also used conventional media outlets, which have proved adept at relaying personal messages across the world.
Yahoo! News India
Top Stories
Friday December 31, 2:14 PM
Web users lend virtual hand to tsunami victims
http://in.news.yahoo.com/041231/43/2irj5.html
By Indo-Asian News Service
Mumbai, Dec 31 (IANS) As help is pouring in for tsunami victims from across the world, Internet users have also launched a major initiative to lend a helping hand in the massive relief and rehabilitation efforts.
A number of blogs, or regularly updated online journal of information and opinions, appeared in the Internet space soon after the giant tsunami waves wreaked havoc in Southeast and South Asian coastal nations, including India, Sunday.
The web pages have not only become a major source for gathering information about the tsunami but also a source for channelising relief measures and hosting details of people missing after the devastating earthquake.
"The idea to launch tsunami relief efforts through the Internet hit us when we got to know of so many people who wanted to help the victims but didn't know how to do so," said Dina Mehta, a city-based market researcher.
Mehta, along with two of her friends, put up a web page dubbed as South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami (SEA-EAT) within a few hours of the calamity.
"Initially, we launched it just to spread information about tsunami but soon it became a virtual movement across many countries as the magnitude of the tragedy began to unfold," Mehta told IANS.
"Now the blog has become a comprehensive online resource for relief and rehabilitation measures with more and more people getting to know how they can contribute to help the tsunami victims," she added.
The SEA-EAT blog not only carries regularly updated reports on the prevailing situation in the tsunami-hit countries but also has a comprehensive list of voluntary organisations helping in rescue and rehabilitation works.
The web page answers crucial queries related to giving donations and joining volunteering efforts. It also lists important contacts of government and non-government agencies in the tsunami-hit regions.
The blog has clocked 250,000 visits since being hosted and has some 60 people providing content from all over South Asia voluntarily. Some of the contributors send firsthand accounts from the scene through SMS.
"The number of people in India and as far as in the US and Britain donating to voluntary agencies through SEA-EAT is increasing everyday. I think this online resource will become a model for the future," said Mehta.
According to Mehta, the SEA-EAT blog is a completely voluntary initiative with people who want to contribute deciding what role they want to play, and organising themselves to work in round-the-clock shifts to update information.
The Mercury News - Blogs, message boards draw world closer after tragedy
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/10537210.htm?1c
Posted on Fri, Dec. 31, 2004 - By Michael Bazeley (www.siliconbeat.com)
When the killer tsunamis surged over Asian coastlines Sunday, communications consultant Peter Griffin struggled with how he could help from his home in Mumbai, India.
The result was the South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami blog, a Web site that has evolved into one of the most visited and important clearinghouses of information on the Internet about the epic tragedy. The site, which had nearly 270,000 hits through Thursday, is now run by dozens of volunteers and offers up-to-date news, hotline numbers and relief efforts details.
"What I was trying to do was put a candle in my window and say I'm trying to help,'' said Griffin, who started the site with help from blogger friends, some of whom he has never met. ``If we can help get aid to one person, then we've done our jobs."
USAToday.com
Tech
Posted 12/30/2004 4:04 AM
Simple question resonates online after the tsunami
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-12-30-wr-r-u_x.htm?csp=34
By Matt Moore, Associated Press
Contributing: Anick Jesdanun in New York and Matteo Cruccu in Rome.
A group of people in Bombay, India, started a blog, tsunamihelp.blogspot.com, to list contact numbers, addresses and links for those interested in helping.
"We give them the whole resources, avenues to contribute, volunteer," said Dina Mehta, a 37-year-old consultant.
The site also provides a place for readers to post messages and replies about those missing. And it has contributors from across the disaster zone, including one in Sri Lanka who updates by sending text messages from his cell phone.
"We're not really doing the relief work. It's just intended to be a house for all resources, so people don't have to run around looking everywhere," Mehta said. "Or if someone lost a relative or has a missing (relative), w
Dec. 30, 2004
CBSNews.com
Internet Help For Tsunami-Stricken
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/12/30/scitech/pcanswer/main663902.shtml
Larry Magid
The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami blog has more information plus links to a variety of disaster related resources including Tsunamiforum.org where survivors and those looking for loved ones can come together.
SEA-EAT Blog Mobilizes Fast For Tsunami Relief
Dec. 29, 2004
Infomation Week
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=56800184&tid=5979
Three bloggers in Bombay set up tsunamihelp.blogspot.com soon after the tsunami hit on Sunday, to form a clearinghouse for disaster relief. Three days later, the blog has 50 contributors and 100,000 visitors. The organizers are struggling to keep up with growth and demand.
By Mitch Wagner
A blog with an ungainly name—The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami, or SEA-EAT—has emerged as the latest example of netizens' ability to form fast volunteer organizations.
The blog was started by Peter Griffin, a writer and blogger located in Bombay, India, soon after the tsunamis hit on Sunday.
"Peter though it up," said Rohit Gupta, one of three bloggers in Bombay running SEA-EAT. "His idea was that there has to be a clearinghouse of aid and information for the tsunami victims. There was no such resources at this time."
The three-day old blog has clocked 100,000 site visits as of Wednesday, noon PST. That's an extraordinarily high number; 1,000 page views in a single day is pretty good for most blogs.
The blog is open to anyone who wants to contribute, with over 50 people now providing content from all over south-east Asia.
BBC News, Technology
Last Updated: Thursday, 30 December, 2004, 17:00 GMT
Web logs aid disaster recovery
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4135687.stm
By Clark Boyd
Technology correspondent
(entire article follows)
(Screengrab of tsunami weblog, Sea-Eat
Caption: Blogs are proving useful to people wanting to help)
Some of the most vivid descriptions of the devastation in southern Asia are on the internet - in the form of web logs or blogs.
Bloggers have been offering snapshots of information from around the region and are also providing some useful information for those who want to help.
Indian writer Rohit Gupta edits a group blog called Dogs without Borders.
When he created it, the site was supposed to be a forum to discuss relations between India and Pakistan.
But in the wake of Sunday's tsunami, Mr Gupta and his fellow bloggers switched gears.
Text report
They wanted to blog the tsunami and its aftermath.
One Sri Lankan blogger in the group goes by the online name Morquendi.
With internet service disrupted by the tsunami, Morquendi started sending SMS text messages via cell phone from the affected areas of Sri Lanka.
"We started publishing these SMSes," says Mr Gupta.
Workers repair power lines, AP
Communications are slowly being restored in disaster regions
"Morquendi was describing scenes like 1,600 bodies washed up on a shore, and people burying, and burying and burying them. People digging holes with their hands. And this was coming through an SMS message.
"We didn't have visual accounts on radio or on TV, or in the print media."
Soon, thousands of web users around the world were logging on to read Morquendi's first hand accounts.
In one message, Morquendi wrote about a Sri Lankan woman who was running home with a friend when the wave hit.
"She was being swept away," Morquendi's message read. "She grabbed a tree with one hand and her friend with the other. She says she watched the water pull her friend away."
Mr Gupta says the power of Morquendi's text message blogs was palpable.
"He was running around, looking for friends, burying bodies, carrying bodies," Mr Gupta says of Morquendi.
"I can't even begin to imagine the psychological state he was in when he was sending us reports, and doing the relief work at the same time.
"He was caught between being a journalist and being a human being."
Aid stations
Others blogs are helping to spread information about relief efforts.
Dina Mehta is an Indian blogger who's helping with the newly created South East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog. She says the blog is not meant to be filled with first person accounts.
"What we're doing is we're building a resource," she says.
"Anyone who says, OK, I want to come and do some work in India, volunteer in India, or in Sri Lanka or Malaysia, this is the sort of one-stop-shop that they can come to for all sorts of resources - emergency help lines, relief agencies, aid agencies, contacts for them etc."
Aid workers load supplies on to cargo plane, AP
Blogs are helping people sign up for aid agencies
Ms Mehta also says she wishes that governments in the region would realise the power of blogs.
"Imagine if they had this resource available to them, if there was a disaster, how quickly you could funnel aid in, and get people to help," she says.
Bloggers in the United States are also getting involved.
Ramdhan Yadav Kotamaraja is originally from India, but now lives in Dallas.
Mr Kotamaraja wanted to help those affected by the tsunami by pooling money with concerned friends.
So, he set up an online payment system on his website.
Then, says Mr Kotamaraja, the blogging world found out.
"All my blogger friends started linking up my site, and I saw a lot of people other than my friends. I'd say 70% of the donations came from people I don't know.
"It's simply unbelievable to me, that people that I don't know will come and start donating."
News spreads quickly on weblogs, a phenomenon that helps bloggers expand their audience and scope.
In Sri Lanka, blogger Morquendi is recruiting others to help.
One recruit calls himself Heretic.
In one of his latest posts, Heretic asks: "Have you ever seen fishing trawlers on the road? Ever seen a bus inside a house?
"Well," Heretic writes, "that was just the least affected areas - so you can just imagine - or can you?"
He concludes: "Keep it blogged."
Clark Boyd is technology correspondent for The World, a BBC World Service and WGBH-Boston co-production.
AFP via Yahoo! News Technology
Bloggers offer witness accounts, ways to help quake and tsunami victims
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20041230/tc_afp/asiaquaketsunami_041230034416
Wed Dec 29,10:44 PM ET
Another site, tsunamihelp.blogspot.com, was slapped together in a few hours by some 30 bloggers from the region, including Ajay, a 22 year-old Indian student, Bala, an information engineer from the US state of New Jersey, and Samit, a young writer in the Indian city of Calcutta.
The site urges bloggers from around the world to volunteer for posting duties. "It would be nice having people around the world taking this up in shifts," a notice on the site reads.
The Hindu
International
The tsunami bloggers have their day
http://www.hindu.com/2004/12/30/stories/2004123001672200.htm
By Patrick Barkham
Guardian Newspapers Limited
LONDON, DEC. 29. The tsunami left Paola di Maio in Phuket with little more than four litres of water but, crucially, an Internet connection. As the information systems designer and her friends helped with the rescue effort while helicopters buzzed overhead, she realised that one thing was missing: information.
Together with Dina Mehta, Peter Griffin, and a small band of other Internet enthusiasts in the region, including some students from New Delhi and a television producer in Sri Lanka, Ms. Di Maio set up SEA-EAT, the South East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami weblog. Visited by 21,000 people on December 28, it has fast become the key online clearing house for people to share information and contact details.
Online search
While government hotlines jam or ring unanswered and international aid efforts appear uncoordinated, desperate relatives have gone online to search for their loved ones or simply to help the aid effort. At the scene of the disaster, survivors have also bypassed official communication channels. As well as virtual notice boards, hundreds of actual notice boards have sprung up. Names, numbers, photographs and appeals for information about missing friends and relatives have been pinned up outside hospitals and beside resorts in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and India.
No surprise
The founders of the virtual rescue centres such as SEA-EAT are not surprised that people are turning to the Net, with its instantly and succinctly published information offering everything from contact numbers of consulates to details of how to get a portable toilet. `The Internet is being used more and more by the families of victims because it is faster and the communication is much more effective,'' said Ankit Gupta, one of SEA-EAT's volunteers based in New Delhi. `One always comes across red tape no matter what in our third world countries.''
Ms. Di Maio said governments and aid agencies could use the web far more. ``The Internet, reasonably reliable and fast, is not used by authorities nor rescue services to communicate, despite the fact that it has been up without interruption during the entire crisis. Governments and authorities should use the Internet as we do. Costs would be lower and results much better coordinated.''
Powerful tool
Another online volunteer, Bala Pitchandi, stayed up until midnight at his home in New Jersey in the U.S. helping to publish information on SEA-EAT. `Blogging is such a powerful tool since it can be used by ordinary people like me to publish views and news,'' he said. `Dozens of volunteers who have never met have gotten together to start this blog and many of the contributors are there at the scene of tragedy to help the world know what's really going on. Traditional news outlets have to be 'politically correct', but blogs are honest and true to the word.''
mention in Fortune: http://www.fortune.com/fortune/fastforward/0,15704,1014511,00.html
contributed by user5564 on Jan 11 10:10am
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