"New" Media Crucial in Aftermath of Haitian Earthquake

"New" media platforms were critical to delivering early information about damage and relief efforts in the aftermath of a 7.0 earthquake that rocked the western side of Haiti shortly before 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

"As phone lines went down and darkness fell over Haiti, the full impact of today's massive earthquake was difficult to know," The Sydney Morning Herald reported. "But as with many recent natural disasters and emergencies, the extent of the chaos in the impoverished Caribbean island emerged quickly online... As major news organizations published quotes from officials on what had happened, eyewitness accounts were being posted to Twitter." The Los Angeles Times quickly created a list of Twitter users believed to be tweeting from Haiti, the Herald noted, and a Web site dedicated to happenings in the country overhauled its homepage to aggregate photos, videos, and news about the earthquake (although the latter seemed to be down at press time, perhaps due to heavy traffic). The article also pointed to a U.S. Geological Survey Web site, which published detailed data on the quake, including maps, graphs, and tables.