[Air-l] Katrina PeopleFinder Project

[Deborah Elizabeth Finn]

Dear Colleagues:

This is just a heads-up about the Katrina PeopleFinder Project. 
Here's the pitch that's currently circulating:

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Donated money? Please donate a little time. Join the Katrina
PeopleFinder Project.

It's easy. All you need is an internet connection and the ability to
copy data into a form.

http://192.122.183.218/wiki/index.php/Help_Needed#Katrina_PeopleFinder_Project

After Katrina many friends and family members have been separated and
left with no clear way to find each other. Hundreds of internet web
sites are gathering hundreds, and probably thousands, of entries about
missing persons or persons who want to let others know they're okay.

The problem is: the data on these sites has no particular form or
structure. So it's almost impossible for people to search or match
things up. Plus there are dozens of sites - making it hard for a
person seeking lost loved ones to search them all.

The Katrina PeopleFinder Project NEEDS YOUR HELP to enter data about
missing and found people from various online sources. We're requesting
as little as an hour of your time. All you need to do is help read
unstructured posts about missing or found persons, and then add the
relevant data to a database through a simple online form.

To get started please click here:

http://192.122.183.218/wiki/index.php/Help_Needed#Katrina_PeopleFinder_Project

Questions? Email katrina-people (at) activist-tech.org

Thanks!!!

The Katrina PeopleFinder Team

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This would make a great research topic for someone who is interested
in online volunteerism and social capital in the wake of a
humanitarian crisis.

Best regards from Deborah

Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
deborah_elizabeth_finn at post.harvard.edu
http://blog.deborah.elizabeth.finn.com/blog
http://public.xdi.org/=deborah.elizabeth.finn