Unwired Medic has a post about two new Facebook Apps designed to help aid you in communication during disasters through the social network.
Although both apps rely on you to have designated “Lifelines” within your Facebook network, the app that I found to be the better choice of the two is the bReddi app. This app has a number of features that I like. Here’s a few of the features I think puts this one ahead:
- Promotes planning through a “badge” reward system (an effective reward system that is very FourSquare-esque)
- Allows the assignment of vital roles amongst your “Lifelines”
- Allows you to create and share preparedness plans
- Allows you to designate meeting places
- Guides you in the preparation of a disaster kit and provides the ability to purchase emergency supplies through Amazon.com
- Provides monitoring information for both yourself and your friends in relation to current threats
As Unwired Medic points out, June is National Safety Month as well as the start of Hurricane Season so the timing for the release of these apps by HHS was well planned.
Now it’s just a matter of getting people to use them.
You can reach the Facebook App through this link: https://apps.facebook.com/breddiapp/
Engaging Facebook as a disaster tool is an interesting idea and has the potential to leverage personal networks. I wonder though, if we’re missing a more important perception: Many people think preparedness is only a matter of installing an app. It’s great that there are tools and references to go beyond the app, but are there any measures of how many people take action here? I’m not very confident that many will click through to Amazon and invest in preparedness supplies. For many preparedness won’t come, until they experience the pain of a disaster.