Geeking out for a cause: Nashville flood response takes to the web
I'm just in awe of the way Nashville is responding in the face of this surreal, overwhelming crisis. And the way Nashville's geek community pulled together to create DonateNashville.org, a collaborative effort among a group of local web developers, is no exception.
Driven by Nashville Predators geek Patten Fuqua’s powerful post that started the We Are Nashville movement, these guys and gals have created a site to match folks in need with folks ready and able to give. DonateNashville allows users may click on “I Need” or “I Have” to get started. You may also follow them on Twitter.
And speaking of geek sites, I’m completely giddy by the way Nashvillians are using social media platforms to communicate, connect and share information in such a meaningful way. If you doubted “the Twitter” had any practical use, just give #nashvilleflood and #wearenashville a search.
On Facebook, Metro Water has done a fantastic job keeping folks up-to-date on water conservation needs; the Nashville Downtown Partnership's page has been a constant source of business opening/closing announcements, volunteer needs and the like.
The creators of Twitter and Facebook never sought out to create a real-time volunteer seeking service for crisis communications, but that’s exactly what they’ve done--because you've chosen to use them that way.
Technology is a beautiful thing.
Her Datebook
February is American Heart Month, a time to raise awareness for the leading cause of death in American women: heart disease. And perhaps no one will be sporting her red more proudly than 20-year-old Nashvillian Nykia Babb.
To read this and other Her Well-Being stories, click here.
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Comments
I think this is a very uninformed post not worthy of an association with such a good magazine. You left out the most important and most followed organization using social media to coordinate flood relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts. That is Hands On Nashville. For goodness sakes, even NBC News with Brian Williams featured Hands On Nashville in its Making A Difference segment, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/vp/37325085#37325085. The Tennessean published eight stories about Hands On Nashville this week alone. Since the floods, there have been countless articles about Hands On Nashville in countless media outlets . Go google and you just might realize how much you've missed. How did you miss Hands On Nashville anyway?
As of today, they have a total of 24,352 facebook fans and twitter followers. They have made countless posts on both sites. As of May 26th, Hands On Nashville volunteers have donated 64,527 hours (that amounts to more than seven years of 24/7/365). 15,276 volunteers have already worked on 844 separate projects coordinated by Hands On Nashville. The estimated economic impact Hands On Nashville volunteers made is a staggering $1,324,388. You saw that right - that is ONE POINT THREE MILLION DOLLARS that would have been spent to accomplish what Hands On Nashville's volunteers did in just 24 days.
Pretty darn remarkable. Who knows what those numbers would be without the extensive social networking done on their behalf.
Hi there,
Thanks for taking the time to comment. Indeed, HON is an incredible resource--in the social media realm and beyond. An absence of a mention of their contributions in this post is in no way a slight to their good work; I'm sure they appreciate your detailed response on their behalf.
Take care,
Chic Geek