I admit – it’s pretty sad that I didn’t hear about the earthquake in Haiti until this morning when I read about it online and on Twitter.  To own my defense, I watch very little TV and even less local news.   Unless SportsCenter covers some non-sports related event in the 15 minutes I watch before heading out the door in the morning, there’s a very small chance I will hear about it before getting in front of the computer for the day.

Here’s a Google Earth view of Port-au-Prince with before and after views of the city:

To me, this is a sign of the times.  More and more people are finding new ways to discover things they have deemed “important” to them. The reason I heard about the earthquake was because my news sources (the people I follow on Twitter) were talking about it.  In the old model, TV and radio stations dictated what content was put in front of me.

The “searchable” internet  made much more specific (and interesting) content available to me and viewers across the world.  All we had to do was go out and find it.

Today, we are able to determine exactly what content we see and hear each day.  No need to go looking for it.  Just set it up once and have the content delivered daily, instantly.  We set up our own “stations” based on our interests (RSS feeds).  Don’t like something?  Just “unsubscribe” – free of charge.  Find a new hobby or celebrity to follow?  Just click the orange  button and poof – it shows up in your reader.

We can see what all the cool kids are talking about or watch real-time updates of news events.

Enjoying a song you’re listening to?  Give it a “Thumbs Up” on Pandora and it’ll feed you recommendations based on similar “rhythmic syncopation” or “chord structures” to what you’re currently listening to.

We can segment the sources (via folders) and people (via “Lists”) we find interesting.

Using Social Media for Good

One of my good friends from high school currently plays soccer for the New York Red Bulls, a team in the MLS.  A few years back, Seth took a trip to Haiti with teammate Josie Altidore and Wyclef Jean (of Fugees fame) and was moved by what he saw.  Almost immediately after returning home, he set up the Sporting Chance Foundation to raise money for the citizens of the island nation.  The primary goal is to raise money for children to attend school – a luxury many Haitian families cannot afford.  The second initiative is to install fresh water wells throughout the cities.

Each year the Sporting Chance Foundation holds a fundraiser at a local club in Columbus, and this year’s event is scheduled for tonight (1/14/2010) at Claddagh’s in the Brewery District.  Coincidentally, news of the earthquake is has created a great deal of awareness about this region, and a few of the people I follow on Twitter were asking for ways to donate.  I forwarded them the link to the Sporting Chance Foundation’s site.

Next I reached out to news stations and anchors (Andrea Cambern, NBC4i, SNP, Columbus Dispatch) to tell them about the event in hopes they’ll show up tonight and cover the story.

I told all my friends about the event through email, tweets, Facebook, and this blog.  I had friends tell their friends about the event online.

And I have a sneaking suspicion that all of this online conversation (my own, and everyone else’s online) is going to turn the 2010 Haiti earthquake into one of the most successful fundraising campaigns in the history of mankind.

What do you think?  See you tonight…

(Zoom in to see the devastation of the earthquake using the Google Earth application below…)