Social Media and Citizen Journalists Help Earthquake Victims in Japan

Social media helps Japan connect through disaster

Social media is dramatically changing the way journalists do their jobs. By using social outlets like Twitter and Facebook, journalists can keep their fingers on the pulse of their communities and get information across more efficiently than traditional news sources. In Libya and now Japan, people are using social media as a way of sharing news, contacting loved ones and donating money to relief efforts. These events have shown the increasing importance of social journalism in disseminating news in an efficient and timely manner.

Journalists from top newspapers such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, as well as National Public Radio (NPR) are increasingly using Facebook as a way of social storytelling, especially in their latest coverage of the events in Libya and Japan. News coverage on Libya would have been nearly impossible without Facebook, which allowed NPR reporters to get photos and videos posted by Facebook users in that country.

Organizations are reaching out through Twitter for people to help those in Japan, and users can donate $10 to the American Red Cross or the Salvation Army via text message. A relatively new method of donating, text donations first caught on during the earthquake in Haiti last year. Groups are also soliciting donations using blogs, websites and social media.

For many Japanese caught in the disaster, Twitter, Facebook and other online services including the Google Person Finder have been the only way for them to contact their loved ones since cell-phone service has been unreliable. Other Twitter users around the world are staying up-to-date with the news and tweeting about it, while some citizen journalists are updating their Twitter with photos from Japan.

Here’s more:

Social Media Plays Vital Role in Reconnecting Japan Quake Victims With Loved Ones (Mashable)

While the World Watches, Japan Tweets Its Way Out of Disaster (The Wrap Media)

Groups uses texts, social media for Japan donations (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Facebook’s Growing Role in Social Journalism (Mashable)

Voices from Japan (Tumblr)

-compiled by Katie Ostrowka

Posted By: Digital Trends Team