Social media play part in recovery efforts

The Homeland Security Department has joined the social-media movement and for the first time is reading Twitter posts, blogs and Internet forums to learn instantly about conditions in Haiti and send alerts to government agencies in the country.

The department's Haiti Social Media Disaster Monitoring Initiative is designed to get information more quickly to people involved in recovery efforts by tracking up to 60 Internet sites including Google Blog Search, The Huffington Post and Twitter, according to a department report. "It's part of the way people communicate, so it should be part of the way we gain situational awareness," said Don Triner, acting director of Homeland Security's National Operations Center. The center was created after 9/11 to be the government's primary eyes and ears about potential security threats, and to share information with emergency workers after an incident. The center expanded after Hurricane Katrina and monitors news websites and TV for information.