Earlier this week, the UN’s refugee agency counted 1,000,000 Syrian refugees. The problem with big numbers is that they get lost in the noise and in the news; the key is to personalize these numbers. Here is what UNHCR has done.
I recently helped a large non-profit organization to better understand their social media followers and fans. In the course of this project, I looked at a number of social media analytics tools. Here are the services that I found useful – and the ones I didn’t like.
This is the second presentation from the GeOnG2012 conference: In the hours after a rapid-onset emergency social media can help humanitarian agencies and emergency responders get a better idea of what the situation is like on the ground.
I just finished a short project for the Tactical Technology Collective where I reviewed seven free tools that can be used to manipulate or visualize data. The reviews are now online.
In many situations, the main problem faced by information managers is not a lack of data, but the fact that data is stored in too many conflicting formats and full of inconsistencies and errors. This week I discovered a few free Google tools that can help to turn messy data into clean data.
I have just spent a few days brainstorming on a policy paper about how information collection and analysis can be improved to lead to better decision making in times of crisis. This blog post contains some of our central thoughts. I’d love to hear what you think about them.
Many non-profits, NGOs and International Organizations are of two minds when it comes to sharing photos on the internet. On the one hand, they want their material to be shared as widely as possible, on the other hand they want to have total control. The decision matrix in this blog post will help you decide which photos to share and how.
The “Social Media for Good Roundups” are a series of posts in which I share interesting articles and other resources that I come across. This week’s roundup looks at good examples for email-newsletters, improved security for Twitter accounts, a critical look at the lack of coordination between crowdsourcing initiatives and additional thoughts on the role of social media after the Boston bombings.
Mobile phones can be a great tool to help people in emergencies. To help organizations or activists decide when and how to use SMS, the GSMA recently published a draft “Code of Conduct for the Use of SMS in Natural Disaster”.
Stormpins is an iPhone app that tries to close the information -> decision loop by providing responders with a smart way to use crowdsourced data about hazards.
Unicef Sweden has just launched a campaign that makes their opinion about “slacktivism” more than clear and which I think is a great way to get people top open their wallets.
Following Monday’s attack on the Boston Marathon, here are a few more posts that looked at the role that social media played in the aftermath.
My girlfriend and I have personal connections to Boston, so we obviously followed the developments of April 15 quite closely from afar. Here are my impressions, particularly concerning the role of social media.
I’m honoured and pleased to have been quoted on the “Impatient Optimist” blog of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Author Jennifer James contacted me about two weeks ago and asked, what my one piece of social media advice to non-profit organizations would be.
The five items outlined in this short presentation by the US Army also provide good orientation for an overall organizational policy or for any organization with many branches.
I’m passionate about information, communication and how they can be used to make the world a better place. Here is what I can do for you:
• Improve how you communicate with the help of digital media
• Manage media relations and information management during disasters
Over the last thirteen years I have worked for the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, the UN, German national public radio and a wire agency.
You can hire me …
Keeping track of all the blogs and websites you find interesting can be difficult.
