Web, Internet, Social Media, Technology

If you’re looking to pitch in to the relief effort for Chile after this morning’s massive earthquake, we’ve gathered some of the web’s best channels for humanitarian aid and reconstruction efforts.

While the death toll is not expected to grow anywhere near the numbers of the Haiti quake, Chile will still require support for the many who are now homeless, and funds for the rebuilding of infrastructure.

If you have the means, we encourage you to donate through one of the channels below.

Text Your Support

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As with the Haitian relief efforts, the Mobile Giving Foundation has launched a text messaging campaign for micro donations, and the four major U.S. mobile carriers, Verizon, At&T, Sprint, and T-mobile, have waived text messaging fees for donations.

To text your support:

1. Text the word “CHILE” to 25383 to donate $10 on behalf of the Habitat for Humanity

Direct Donations Online

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If you want to donate a larger amount directly to a non-profit of choice, consider these organizations that have active relief efforts underway.

1. American Red Cross – the American Red Cross International Response Fund helps victims of crises such as the Chile and Haiti earthquakes. If you wish to designate your funds to a specific crisis, you’ll need to mail in your donation.

2. Americares – funds go exclusively to the Chilean earthquake (and tsunami relief, should further tragedies occur)

3. Google Crisis Response, with channels benefiting UNICEF and DirectRelief International
– use your Google Checkout account to donate instantly to these charities

4. World Vision Disaster Response Fund - your money goes towards relief efforts for global disasters worldwide (not Chile specifically)

Do you know of other non-profits mobilizing aid for Chile that we missed? Add them with donation information in the comments.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, tipografico

Tags: chile, chile earthquake, donation, donations, social good, texting

With Twitter phishing attacks in the news last week, it’s perhaps unsurprising that musician Jason Mraz (@jason_mraz) has seen his Twitter account compromised today.

Mraz’s account is currently sending out links to a Cost Per Action offers site that appears to add $9.99 to your phone bill if you follow through with the request. There’s some social engineering going on here too, with the Tweets reading: “Here is the quiz. whoever beats my IQ of 97 will win the ipad and get to be in my newest video”.

The hack was confirmed on Mraz’s Facebook page minutes ago, with an update reading: “**IMPORTANT** someone has hacked into Jason’s twitter account. Don’t believe anything that is tweeted until we have access back into the account!”

Hat-tip: Arthur Baynes

Tags: jason mraz, mraz, twitter

Version 2.1 of the Android operating system (which currently powers newer handsets like the Nexus One) may be coming to older Android phones in the U.S, according to a report. This corroborates some earlier rumors, and comes despite speculation that 2.1 simply wouldn’t fit on older hardware like T-mobile’s G1 handset.

The rumor is being reported by Taylor Wimberly of Android and Me, who cites “inside sources familiar with the matter.” Wimberly also notes that not all of the features of the Nexus One will make it to the older phones, such as Live Wallpaper, and that certain handsets may require a clean data wipe before installing 2.1 via PC interface (a departure from previous over-the-air updates that Android users have enjoyed).

Given that the most crucial user data stored on Android phones is generally in the cloud (e-mail, contacts calendar) and other apps and files can easily be backed up via SD card, a system wipe in exchange for a shiny new OS seems worthwhile. But questions remain about how older hardware will handle some of the heavier features of 2.1.

If the rumors are true, it would be great news for early adopters of Android who now long for the updated features of the Nexus One.

What do you think? If available, would you upgrade your old Android phone to 2.1, or simply purchase the newest hardware when you’re ready?

Tags: android, G1, Google, Mobile 2.0, nexus one, rumor, rumors

A woman was able to track down her missing sister-in-law today thanks to the help of a fellow Twitter user.

Earlier we posted some of the Chile earthquake pictures that Chileans have been sharing on Twitter of the devastation caused by this morning’s magnitude-8.8 earthquake. Many of our readers were moved, as we were, to see some of the destruction first-hand. But one reader, Sheryl Breuker, shared a personal story with us in the comments about the true power of social media in crisis situations.

She wrote:

“…my sister-in-law was in Santiago and we couldn’t find her. No text, no phones, nothing. We were able to make contact with locals using twitter search to follow hashtags and several people contacted us asking for details. One of the locals looked for, and FOUND my brothers wife, 2 hours after first contact. I am so thankful for social media, grateful to the power of networking and beyond ecstatic my sister-in-law was safe and her home intact.”

Twitter User Offers Help

Because power and phone lines are down in many areas near Santiago, Breuker’s attempts to call, text, and e-mail her sister-in-law were in vain.

She then turned to Twitter and used hashtags to make a connection with any locals near Santiago where her sister-in-law Maria lives. Many responded by retweeting the missing person link, created with Google’s Chile Earthquake Person Finder.

Before long, she was contacted by a stranger who lived in the area, asking how he could help. Through their Twitter correspondence, Breuker was able to pass on Maria’s address to the man, who could physically go there to check on her sister-in-law.

Within two hours of their first contact, Breuker received a Direct Message on Twitter from the man: “found her! she is OK…. she told me to tell Twinkie to stay cool, she is fine!”

The story really illustrates the power of social networks in a crisis situation. They provide communication channels that spread out in all directions, bypassing the direct lines like phone and e-mail that in this situation, simply didn’t work.

The story is detailed further in Breuker’s blog post.

Have you heard other stories of social media connecting missing loved ones in Chile, Haiti, or elsewhere? Share them in the comments below.

Tags: chile, chile earthquake, social media, social networks, twitter

Google today launched a person finder to quickly connect those looking for missing people in Chile and those who have information.

The simple interface lets you choose between two options — “I’m looking for someone” and “I have information about someone,” then either query the database or enter new information. At the time of writing, the Person Finder app has 3,100 records.

The Person Finder is the same app used following the Haiti earthquake. We hope to see other tech companies stepping up to provide tools to assist people in Chile.

Tags: chile, chile earthquake, Earthquake, Google

The magnitude-8.8 earthquake that rocked Chile early this morning was similar to many breaking-news events in that images from the disaster began spreading over social networks at lightning speed.

Chileans have been uploading and sharing photos of the terremoto Chile via Twitter and Twitpic, many commenting on the state of their neighborhoods, local streets, and the homes of family and friends.

Below are some of the photos that have been shared on Twitter today.

via conycampos

via tapeks

via tapeks

via MrMobitec

via MrMobitec

via MrMobitec

via conycampos

via conycampos

via conycampos

via EGMiranda

Have you found any compelling photos of the quake in your social media travels today? Please share some links in the comments.

Tags: chile, Earthquake, trending, twitpic, twitter

A major earthquake of magnitude-8.8 struck Chile early Saturday, causing extensive damage.

As a result, a tsunami warning has been issued for Hawaii, Polynesia and Tonga, with waves expected to reach Hawaii at 11:19 a.m. local time (4:19 p.m. EST). A tsunami advisory has been issued for California, while tsunami warnings have been issued for 53 countries in total, including Australia and New Zealand.

We’re currently tracking the coverage online with a combination of live streams from local TV stations, official information from the NOAA and updates from Twitter and real-time search. Here’s a collection of resources we’re using: please add your own in the comments.

Tracking the Tsunami Warnings Online

1. Live streaming video (Ustream) – Ustream is helpfully providing TV coverage from local channels in Chile and Hawaii. We’ve aggregated the most relevant channels in a blog post.

2. Twitter hashtag #tsunami – Twitter users are tagging updates with #tsunami, and Twitter search is proving extremely useful for news tracking. Remember that Twitter’s advanced search lets you find updates posted from specific places – Chile or Hawaii, for instance.

3. Google Real-time search “Tsunami warning” – Google’s real-time search combines news results with postings from Twitter, blogs and other real-time sources. “Tsunami warning” delivers relevant results, but obviously tweak your search terms if you’re looking for something more specific.

4. NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center – The PTWC provides a collection of resources for those tracking the tsunami, including maps of those areas where tsunami warnings and advisories have been issued.

5. NOAA’s Tsunami.gov – Tsunami.gov is the NOAA’s official tsunami site, providing links to their local warning centers. However, we’re getting limited uptime today, presumably due to heavy traffic. Using the other sources above may keep this site available to those who most need it.

Tags: chile, Earthquake, hawaii, tsunami, warnings

For those without access to the relevant channels, video streaming site Ustream is currently live streaming coverage of both the Chile earthquake aftermath and tsunami warnings for Hawaii and Pacific regions.

Coverage comes courtesy of local news channels.

We’ve embedded the channels below, and welcome your tips for following the earthquake and tsunami news elsewhere on the web.

Tsunami Warning for Hawaii Live Coverage

Hawaii Tsunami Warnings – CBS Live

Live earthquake coverage from Chile

Tags: chile, hawaii, pacific, trending, tsunami

Google’s Nexus One is coming to Verizon on March 23rd, according to a report. The launch announcement is expected during CTIA Wireless 2010 in Las Vegas.

The device recently passed FCC inspection for use on Verizon’s CDMA network, reports Neowin, citing an anonymous Googler as its source. The phone originally launched in January, with the option to buy it unlocked or with a T-Mobile contract.

What do you think? Does Verizon make the Nexus One a more appealing offer?

Tags: google phone, nexus one, verizon

A few weeks ago, tensions between Adobe and Apple rose to all-time highs after Apple prominently left Flash off of the iPad. A lashing by Steve Jobs, calling Adobe lazy and Flash buggy didn’t help matters at all.

The problem: Apple believes that Flash shouldn’t be part of the web’s future. Instead, the company believes that HTML5 is what will define the web and would love to see more developers adopt it instead of Flash. Now that big video sites such as YouTube are testing support for HTML5, Steve could be getting his wish.

That’s why we asked you, the readers, to tell us where you stand on the issue. Adobe Flash vs. HTML5: which is better for the future of the web? After over 6000 votes…

…HTML5 handily knocked out Adobe Flash. With 3,891 votes, HTML5 garnered 61% of the polls. Adobe Flash was able to muster 1,779 votes (28%), while 660 said it was a tie (10%).

Next week, we’ll do it all over again with another web faceoff. Be sure to tune in and vote!

Who would win in a fight: Adobe Flash or HTML5?(polls)

Faceoff Series: Overall Results

Week 1:
– Mozilla Firefox vs. Google Chrome
– WINNER: Firefox, 4600 votes (Chrome: 3310 votes, Tie: 911 votes)

Week 2:
– Tumblr vs. Posterous
– WINNER: Tumblr, 1809 votes (Posterous: 1496 votes, Tie: 256 votes)

Week 3:
– Pandora vs. Last.fm
– WINNER: Last.fm, 1187 votes (Pandora: 1156 votes, Tie: 122 votes)

Week 4:
– Twitter vs. Facebook
– WINNER: Facebook, 2484 votes (Twitter: 2061 votes, Tie: 588 votes)

Week 5:
– WordPress vs. Typepad
– WINNER: WordPress, 2714 votes (Typepad: 267 votes, Tie: 357 votes)

Week 6:
– Windows 7 vs. Snow Leopard
– WINNER: Windows 7, 3632 votes (Snow Leopard: 3278 votes, Tie: 121 votes)

Week 7:
– TweetDeck vs. Seesmic Desktop
– WINNER: TweetDeck, 3294 votes (Seesmic Desktop: 1055 votes, Tie: 260 votes)

Week 8:
– Microsoft Office vs. Google Docs
– WINNER: Microsoft Office, 1365 votes (Google Docs: 994 votes, Tie: 315 votes)

Week 9:
– Apple iPhone vs. Google Android
– WINNER: Google Android, 3323 votes (Apple iPhone: 1494 votes, Tie: 228 votes)

Week 10:
– AT&T vs. Verizon
– WINNER: Verizon, 1161 votes (AT&T: 538 votes, Tie: 118 votes)

Week 11:
– Google vs. Bing
– WINNER: Google, 2180 votes (Bing: 519 votes, Tie: 97 votes)

Week 12:
– iPod Touch/iPhone vs. Nintendo DS vs. Sony PSP
– WINNER: iPod Touch/iPhone, 704 votes (Sony PSP: 639 votes, Nintendo DS: 482 votes, Tie: 108 votes)

Week 13:
– Digg vs. Reddit vs. StumbleUpon
– WINNER: Digg, 14,762 votes (Reddit: 11,466 votes, StumbleUpon: 2507 votes, Tie: 1032 votes)

Week 14:
– Old versus new Twitter retweets
– WINNER: Old style retweets, 1625 votes (New style retweets: 699 votes, Tie: 227 votes)

Week 15:
– Gmail vs. Outlook
– WINNER: Gmail, 3684 votes (Outlook: 980 votes, Tie: 590 votes)

Week 16:
– Boxee vs. Hulu
– WINNER: Hulu, 626 votes (Boxee: 591 votes, Tie: 106 votes)

Week 17:
– Nexus One vs. iPhone 3GS
– WINNER: Nexus One, 6743 votes (iPhone 3GS: 2818 votes, Tie: 592 votes)

Week 18:
– Foursquare vs. Yelp vs. Gowalla
– WINNER: Foursquare, 1182 votes, (Yelp: 661 votes, Gowalla: 509 votes, Tie: 143 votes)

Week 19:
– AIM vs. GTalk vs. FbChat
– WINNER: GTalk, 2189 votes, (AIM: 1257 votes, FbChat: 511 votes, Tie: 203 votes)

Week 20:
– Music Ownership vs. Music Subscription
– WINNER: Ownership, 533 votes (Subscription: 299 votes, Tie: 237)

Week 21:
– Match.com vs. PlentyofFish
– WINNER: Plenty of Fish, 430 votes (Match.com: 334 votes, Tie: 187 votes)

Week 21:
– Google Buzz vs. Facebook Vs. Twitter
– WINNER: Facebook, 3353 votes (Twitter: 1828 votes, Google Buzz: 1298 votes, Tie: 651 votes)

[HTML5 image courtesy of justinsomnia on Flickr]

Tags: adobe, adobe flash, Flash, HTML5, poll, web faceoff