Posts Tagged ‘Disaster Response’

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Facebook Acquires Instagram for $1 Billion (SocialTimes)
Facebook has acquired the photo-sharing site Instagram for a reported $1 billion in cash and stock. “This is an important milestone for Facebook, because it’s the first time we’ve ever acquired a product and company with so many users,” wrote founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a statement on his Facebook page. Instagram Blog Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom also addressed the deal on the company’s official blog. “The Instagram app will still be the same one you know and love. You’ll still have all the same people you follow and that follow you. You’ll still be able to share to other social networks. And you’ll still have all the other features that make the app so fun and unique.” The New York Times / Dealbook With Instagram, Facebook will get a formidable mobile player — an area that is seen as a weakness for the sprawling social network. Gizmodo Facebook’s impending IPO probably didn’t have much to do with its ability to purchase Instagram — it already had globs of cash — but might shade how it uses Instagram going forward. Meaning, it’ll have public investors to appease, so it’s going to need to justify spending a ton of money. Read more

Social media isn’t just about social ads, the social graph and social networks – the Red Cross has identified social emergencies as part of the changing face of media in the digital age. According to a recent survey, 74% of respondents believed that emergency aid responders heard their cries of help through social media, and expected a response within the hour. The American Red Cross will be hosting an Emergency Data Summit on Thursday August 12th to explore how Twitter, SMS and other social media can be harnessed to ensure that first responders hear the distress cries and get to the scene as quickly as possible. While the gap between expectations and the abilities of first responders appears to be quite wide, the Red Cross hopes to use this summit to improve their own and other emergency response organizations’ uses of social media to empower the public in times of disaster.
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