Software News Daily » haiti

Loopt and Gowalla Haiti Donations Face-Off

Lansia — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:26:45 +0000

Loopt, a mobile application, announced they are donating $1 for every check-in at Chipotle, Whole Foods or Panera Bread before the end of Sunday. The proceeds will go towards the relief efforts in Haiti and there’s no charge to the Loopt user either. Minutes later, I read that Gowalla, a competing app, will be launching a campaign called “Hearts for Haiti” on Monday, February 8th.

The Hearts for Haiti campaign will take place in the SF Bay Area at three specified locations — two Peet’s coffee shops and the Barenaked Ladies concert. When someone uses Gowalla to check-in at one of those locations during the event, $50 will be donated in to the Red Cross in that person’s name. Gowalla hopes to reach $20,000. In addition to Gowalla’s charitable efforts, the two Peet’s locations will also be donating 10% of sales towards Haiti efforts. Details on when to go where can be found over at the Gowalla Blog.

Okay, it’s great that these two rival apps are working towards a greater cause but… how do you check-in? What does it mean to check-in? Do you live in the dinosaur age and only use your cell phone for calls? It’s okay, because I live in that era as well. In fact, I don’t even do the text thing — I know I know, I get a lot of crap about it…

Well, Loopt and Gowalla are location-based mobile apps for the mobile user. Think of a “Super Twitter” (yes, I agree that Twitter is also very confusing) with an interactive map, sort of… Loopt and Gowalla allow you to share your location, status and photos with friends. These programs also allow you to share events and places with your friends. All this information is then provided conveniently on a detailed interactive map. There wasn’t much information on Gowalla, but Loopt describes itself as a “social compass.” I imagine it’s fairly useful when your friends are out and about and you are looking for something to do that night. Find out where your friends are and what they are doing through the app then, connect. Loopt even alerts you when a friend is nearby!

Anyway, when you “check-in,” you are basically sending an update to your friends. Does that make sense at all? If not, the Business Insider has a step by step slideshow of how Foursquare, a similar app, works. Sorry, this has been a very confusing post… Please comment if you can help explain things better!

iPhone Helps Man Survive the Haiti Earthquake

Lansia — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:46:08 +0000

It’s difficult to imagine what we would do without cell phones and Internet nowadays. I remember not too long ago when my friend didn’t have a cell phone — the frustrations of meeting up, not being able to call to find his ETA or telling him I was running late. Soon thereafter, he signed up for a cell phone plan and things have been easier ever since. Being online for over eight hours a day with my cell phone next to me, it’s hard for me to even think about not being connected — especially after becoming so accustomed to the convenience of it all.

So, what would the aftermath efforts of the Haiti earthquake be like sans cell phones and Internet? I mean, text messaging has accumulated over $24 million in donations to the Red Cross alone. This is a significant jump from just one week ago when history was made with the $4 million record. And now, a man is telling his tale of how he survived the Haiti earthquake with the help of his trusty iPhone?! How can we not live without these modern conveniences!

Dan Woolley, a documentary filmmaker for Compassion International, had just finished a day of shooting before the earthquake struck. “I just saw the walls rippling and just explosive sounds all around me,” Woolley tells The View‘s Meredith Vieira. By using his digital SLR camera to illuminate his surroundings, Woolley was able to take refuge in an elevator shaft.

Woolley sustained a compound fracture of the leg and cut to the head while caught in falling rubble. Knowing that he could die, he downloaded a first-aid app on his iPhone. It was like if an EMT was right beside him. The app gave instructions on how to treat his wounds. With directions from the iPhone app, Woolley stopped the bleeding from his head and safely applied a tourniquet to his leg. The app also warned him not to fall asleep, a possible fatality for those going into shock. So, he programmed his iPhone alarm clock to alert him every 20 minutes.

For the next 65 hours, Woolley waited until a French rescue team pulled him out. Just last night, four days after his rescue, he returned home to his family in Colorado Springs. MSNBC has in-depth coverage, including Meredith Vieira’s interview with Woolley and his wife.

Would Woolley have survived without his iPhone? It’s amazing how far technology has come…

Text Messaging Accrues Over $4M for Haiti Earthquake Relief

Lansia — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 22:55:57 +0000

In spite of constant layoffs and a (seemingly) still drowning economy, Americans set a record for mobile giving yesterday. Tens of thousands of cell phone users texted donations that totaled $3 million. This record-setting amount of donations to the Red Cross will benefit the recent Haiti earthquake. According to Daily Finance, yesterday’s record blew away previous single-day mobile giving numbers. The Indian Ocean tsunami crisis in December 2004 brought in $200,000, and in August 2005, Hurricane Katrina received $400,000. The Haiti earthquake hasn’t seen anything yet, though.

News of the earthquake rang around the world, perhaps much more quickly than news of Google leaving China. And this also seems to be the case for news of text donations; word has spread like a viral video on YouTube. The dollars are still banking in by the text message. Right now, donations to the Red Cross, alone, have succeeded the $4 million mark.

Wait, there’s more. Twitter is abundant with tweets about donations to various organizations. Google live search also shows a constant stream of chatter. Even the President is spreading the word. If you would like to contribute, here are a few organizations accepting donations via text:

Text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to American Red Cross.
Text “HAITI” to 85944 to donate $10 to the International Medical Corps.
Text“HAITI” to 20222 to donate $10 to the Clinton Foundation.
Text “HAITI” to 25383 to donate $5 to the International Rescue Committee
Text “HAITI” to 45678 to donate $5 to the Salvation Army in Canada.
Text “HAITI” to 864833 to donate $5 to The United Way.
Text “YELE” to 50150 to donate $5 to Wyclef Jean’s Yele fund.

As we are becoming more comfortable and reliant on technology, I wonder what numbers the our next mobile giving record will reach… What do you predict?