Tweeps stay busy after Nepal Tragedy

NEPAL: When Climber Jim Davidson tweeted 'We're safe at camp 1. Apparent earthquake. We had avi nearby, powder blast & glacier moved. Injuries in basecamp.', he was just trying to cleverly use technology in a crisis situation.

A way that many Twitterati have resorted to in the last few hours of a sad crisis that has gripped Nepal and adjoining regions.

If Google and Facebook are there with their smart tools for helping fight an unforeseen emergency like Earthquake, social networking platforms and microblogging sites are doing their 140 bit too. A capability that galvanises around but also goes beyond hashtags like #NepalQuake.

From MEA authorities stating 'We have set up a handle for Control Room @MEAcontrolroom; to the ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY page or updates from EarthquakeNepal-MoHA or Ministry of Railways like 'As instructed by MR @sureshpprabhu, 1 lakh Rail Neer bottles being despatched to Kathmandu as relief by IR. Tonight.'; Twitter has been busy and how; showing humanity's tendency to help with whatever is possible for fellow human beings.

People (concerned citizens as well as celebrities) are not only tweeting about the sadness and shock felt but also sending out resurrection in any form possible - alerts about missing family members, about rescue or reporting helplines, about safe and not-so-safe spots; virtual pats for a Telco or airline giving free services; calls for contributing post the aftermath in many ways; and prayers as well as good vibes for those who have suffered the seismic day.

Raheel Khursheed, Head - Government, Politics and News, Twitter India tells, “We are using our platform to mobilize resources and get relevant information via @TwitterIndia, @Policy, @TwitterforGood leading Twitter personalities and media partners to those in need of help and those who are able to help, whether they’re citizens, NGOs or government agencies as well as those looking for missing family members and friends."

While #Nepal, #NepalEarthqake and #NepalQuake have been used to report on the disaster the past few days, Twitter is now promoting #NepalQuakeRelief as a way to focus the conversation on coordinating relief efforts and saving lives.

The next priority is to work with local agencies, such as @InCrisisRelief, to help manage relief efforts (including volunteers, food, drinking water, shelter, medicines, clothes) and donations to reach the affected people of Nepal and India, tells Khursheed and explains how the next action-plan is to provide select NGOs, such as @WorldVision and @OxfamAustralia, access to Ads For Good program where they can more effectively disseminate the information about their rescue and fundraising operations to Twitter users around the world.

So keep helping and spreading all the positive energy that you can, in as many mediums as you can. Whether it is technology or thoughts, every 'bit' counts.