Comments on: Haiti: A call to "peoplefinder" site builders - open your data! http://boingboing.net/2010/01/17/haiti-a-call-to-peop.html Brain candy for Happy Mutants Sat, 18 May 2013 11:02:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/01/17/haiti-a-call-to-peop.html#comment-696161 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-696161 Also on this site you can find people of Haiti: http://helpboard.sternet.com.mx Also on this site you can find people of Haiti:
http://helpboard.sternet.com.mx

]]> By: invictus http://boingboing.net/2010/01/17/haiti-a-call-to-peop.html#comment-689526 invictus Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-689526 There are a few problems with that suggestion. First is the requirement for original photos with identifying names. Second is the suggestion that someone then photograph all those unable to identify themselves by name and upload the photos for analysis -- I imagine that's rather low on the priority list. Finally, the faces may well be in anything but pristine condition, either due to direct trauma or the hardships of having no access to food, water, or shelter. Given the importance of accurate information in this situation, you really don't want to have a bunch of "whoops, sorry, our software guessed wrong" scenarios. There are a few problems with that suggestion. First is the requirement for original photos with identifying names. Second is the suggestion that someone then photograph all those unable to identify themselves by name and upload the photos for analysis — I imagine that’s rather low on the priority list. Finally, the faces may well be in anything but pristine condition, either due to direct trauma or the hardships of having no access to food, water, or shelter. Given the importance of accurate information in this situation, you really don’t want to have a bunch of “whoops, sorry, our software guessed wrong” scenarios.

]]> By: dragondm http://boingboing.net/2010/01/17/haiti-a-call-to-peop.html#comment-690045 dragondm Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-690045 I recall during katrina, one of the more useful things that a bunch of volunteers from where I work did was put together a mash-up app that that would search several of those people finder sites at once. I remember manning a help desk at a shelter and helping some folks find their family members with that. (The other useful thing was a ruby-on-rails app put together in 3 days of no sleep that helped the Red Cross run several of the big shelters in San Antonio.) Someone aught to put together a repository of "disaster software" that can be grabbed at a moments notice for rapid deployment in case of emergency. Pre-canned "people finder" webapps, logistics software for distributing relief supplies, mapping apps, software for running emergency shelters (checkin/out, printing shelter ID cards for folks who've lost all ID's ), etc. Alot of this stuff is simple and can help make things run MUCH more smoothly. I recall during katrina, one of the more useful things that a bunch of volunteers from where I work did was put together a mash-up app that that would search several of those people finder sites at once. I remember manning a help desk at a shelter and helping some folks find their family members with that.

(The other useful thing was a ruby-on-rails app put together in 3 days of no sleep that helped the Red Cross run several of the big shelters in San Antonio.)

Someone aught to put together a repository of “disaster software” that can be grabbed at a moments notice for rapid deployment in case of emergency. Pre-canned “people finder” webapps, logistics software for distributing relief supplies, mapping apps, software for running emergency shelters (checkin/out, printing shelter ID cards for folks who’ve lost all ID’s ), etc. Alot of this stuff is simple and can help make things run MUCH more smoothly.

]]> By: akwhitacre http://boingboing.net/2010/01/17/haiti-a-call-to-peop.html#comment-689360 akwhitacre Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-689360 Thanks for picking this up, Xeni. The Center's website, and more info, is available at http://civic.mit.edu. (It's currently linked in the post to our institutional home, the MIT Media Lab). Thanks for picking this up, Xeni. The Center’s website, and more info, is available at http://civic.mit.edu. (It’s currently linked in the post to our institutional home, the MIT Media Lab).

]]> By: lakelady http://boingboing.net/2010/01/17/haiti-a-call-to-peop.html#comment-689362 lakelady Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-689362 I can remember participating in a giant volunteer wiki project during the aftermath of Katrina that was all about lost/found/missing people. As I remember info was culled from newspaper/internet classified postings from all over the south. I could work on my computer in the midwest by spending time transferring gathered info into a standardized and searchable database. I've been wondering why I haven't heard about anything like this for Haiti. I don't have the programing expertise to organize something like this but lots of us know enough to be grunt data workers. I know for myself that project felt way better than throwing money at an ngo (though I did that too) I can remember participating in a giant volunteer wiki project during the aftermath of Katrina that was all about lost/found/missing people. As I remember info was culled from newspaper/internet classified postings from all over the south. I could work on my computer in the midwest by spending time transferring gathered info into a standardized and searchable database. I’ve been wondering why I haven’t heard about anything like this for Haiti. I don’t have the programing expertise to organize something like this but lots of us know enough to be grunt data workers. I know for myself that project felt way better than throwing money at an ngo (though I did that too)

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/01/17/haiti-a-call-to-peop.html#comment-689884 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-689884 This widget should be made available on Facebook if possible. This widget should be made available on Facebook if possible.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2010/01/17/haiti-a-call-to-peop.html#comment-689638 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-689638 lakelady, I remember that! I was on the phone with west Louisiana Red Cross people trying to get their help accessing the RC data for that database. The local RC guys couldn't get higher-ups to talk to them through the chaos, so we went to screen-scraping and manual entry. One big problem is the Internet infrastructure in Haiti. I remember during Katrina that one or two independent ISPs were pretty much holding up the Internet in N.O. for the first week or two by sheer will. Haiti _before_ the quake (and after getting hit several times by hurricanes this year) barely had the infrastructure that N.O. had _after_ Katrina. The Google infrastructure factor, which barely could have existed even just 4 1/2 years ago for Katrina, is here in force now, so it'll be fascinating to see how much it bridges that gap. lakelady, I remember that! I was on the phone with west Louisiana Red Cross people trying to get their help accessing the RC data for that database. The local RC guys couldn’t get higher-ups to talk to them through the chaos, so we went to screen-scraping and manual entry.

One big problem is the Internet infrastructure in Haiti. I remember during Katrina that one or two independent ISPs were pretty much holding up the Internet in N.O. for the first week or two by sheer will. Haiti _before_ the quake (and after getting hit several times by hurricanes this year) barely had the infrastructure that N.O. had _after_ Katrina.

The Google infrastructure factor, which barely could have existed even just 4 1/2 years ago for Katrina, is here in force now, so it’ll be fascinating to see how much it bridges that gap.

]]> By: Nadreck http://boingboing.net/2010/01/17/haiti-a-call-to-peop.html#comment-689397 Nadreck Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-689397 The app is, so far, keyed only to names. However a lot of the corpses or even the still breathing but unconscious bodies won't have that information available. Could the casinos donate some time on their facial recognition software so that it could work off of pictures? The app is, so far, keyed only to names. However a lot of the corpses or even the still breathing but unconscious bodies won’t have that information available. Could the casinos donate some time on their facial recognition software so that it could work off of pictures?

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