iGyaan Network

Tag: Safety Check

  • Facebook’s ‘Safety Check’ and Hashtags to Help Chennai Flood Victims

    Facebook’s ‘Safety Check’ and Hashtags to Help Chennai Flood Victims

    Chennai has been battling its worst rains in a century with 188 people confirmed dead and thousands having to evacuate their homes due to the flooding. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalitha said that –

    “State police, fire and rescue services, state and national disaster response forces and coast guard are ready to rescue people using boats, and adequate precautionary measures are being taken to protect people.”

    But, in our country we have grown used to not relying on the government and taking things into our hands during dire times. So, ordinary citizens have come together on social media to send or seek help. This instance reminds us of the time when a similar online effort was made in March 2015 when Jammu & Kashmir was hit by massive floods and people who wanted to help used #KashmirFloods to connect on Twitter and Facebook.

    Chennai Rains

    Likewise for the Chennai floods we have #ChennaiRainsHelp and #ChennaiFloods among the most used hashtags on Twitter and Facebook. These hashtags are beings used to offer shelter, food, transport and even mobile recharges. Meanwhile Facebook has also put out its safety check feature where you can mark yourself safe if you are in Chennai.

    Facebook Chennai

    All the online efforts put together have more often than not been successful in meting out necessary help during times of need. Maybe governments should really start prioritizing people instead of shunning them and letting them fend for themselves.

  • Facebook Activates ‘Safety Check’ Feature Amid Paris Terror Attacks

    Facebook Activates ‘Safety Check’ Feature Amid Paris Terror Attacks

    Today, the world woke up to one of the worst terror attacks in recent times. The Paris massacre last night killed dozens of people and left many more severely injured. In times of such crisis one needs to stay connected to those closest to them, especially if they happen to be near the crisis zone, and Facebook lets you do that with its ‘Safety Check’ feature.

    On Friday, Facebook activated its safety check feature during the Paris crisis to allow users to notify friends and family that they were safe through the site’s ‘Safety Check’ tool. Users began getting notifications telling them that their friends who were in Paris during the attacks were safe.

    Safety check

    The ‘Safety Check’ feature was launched in 2014 and has been activated five times so far. This is the first time the feature has been used in a non-natural disaster setting. in the wake of the attacks, Facebook promptly activated the feature and also released a statement:

    “We are shocked and saddened by the events unfolding in Paris. Communication is critical in these moments both for people there and for their friends and families anxious for news. People turn to Facebook to check on loved ones and get updates which is why we created Safety Check and why we have activated it today for people in Paris.”

    Facebook hasn’t yet shared how many people were marked safe. According to its site, Facebook determines the location of a user by “looking at the city you have listed in your profile, your last location if you’ve opted in to the Nearby Friends product, and the city where you are using the internet.”

     

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