What were you doing on August 29th, 2005? I can certainly tell you what you weren’t doing. You weren’t answering the question “what’s happening?” on Twitter. And, unless you were in college, or part of a college network you  weren’t updating your status on Facebook. And you certainly weren’t “checking in” anywhere other than what you might do at a physical hotel.

Sometimes it really is mind-blowing that Social Media is still so young.

Five years ago on August 29th 2005 Hurricane Katrina smashed its way on to the southeastern Louisiana coast, and tore up both New Orleans and the Mississippi coastal communities.

Approximately 1,800 people died as a result of the hurricane and ensuing floods – making it the most devastating and deadly storm since 1928.

BSW – Before The Social Web

So, in 2005 the idea of the social web was just beginning to show signs of life.   I mean let’s be clear, nobody was clamoring to figure out a mySpace or Friendster strategy - but there were a few small signs. Del.icio.us was there.  YouTube had just launched. And, even though Ebay would buy Skype for $2.6 billion 12 days later, certainly it had not hit the mainstream yet.  There was simply no business case for anything like this at all.

So, when Katrina rolled in – the job of telling the story fell to traditional media such as Television, radio and print. Reporters reported their stories via Satellite. Radio and telephone were still the primary communication methods.  And although most of the land lines were completely cut, there were still a good number of people who could use their mobile phones to call and text their loved ones.

5 Years later - and it's all changed.

Does Social Media Create Markets?

Would things have been different in 2005 had Social Media had the widespread usage it does today?  Maybe?  Maybe Not. But we can certainly look to a what's happened since then as a guide.

In January of this year, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated Haiti. With an epicenter only ten miles from the capital Port-Au-Prince, it decimated most of the major buildings in that city and flattened almost every structure around it.   Approximately 70,000 people died.

Literally within hours of the earthquake, photos began appearing on major news outlets – but this time they were coming from Tweetpic . According Sysomos, a Twitter tracking service, 2.3 million tweets included the words Haiti or Red Cross in the first 48 hours after the Earthquake.

Much of this traffic was the passing of donation information. The Red-Cross launched a social media and mobile campaign for text donations - and the word spread via Twitter and Facebook.   They raised more than $3 million in the first 24 hours after the earthquake – and by the following Sunday had gotten to $21 million.   This obliterated the $4 million that was raised by text messaging in 2009, and was far far greater than raised in a similar time frame after the Katrina disaster.

Additionally, Twitter influencers also raised an extraordinary amount of money in a short period of time.   Wyclef Jean asked his 1.4 million followers to donate to his foundation by texting “Yele” .  He reportedly was able to raise approximately $2 million.

In a Harvard Business Review blog post earlier this year, Dan Pallotta posed an intriguing thought. In commenting on how Haiti was a marketing lesson he said:

“The media is creating a huge market for giving to Haiti. They are building demand for purchasing charity for Haiti on a massive scale. And, small wonder, massive purchasing is occurring. How much do we think would be given to Haiti if the story ended after one news broadcast on the day it happened?”

Certainly social media has changed the life cycle of news, and has been the explosive fuel for this question.  The power, speed and help that Social Media has provided for other types of disasters since Katrina is astounding.   As the Red Cross now says on their Emergency Social Data blog:

“Social Media has radically changed how people communicate, including their calls for help. Now, people Tweet, add a Facebook status or text about a natural disaster. Emergency and disaster response organizations are working to develop a process to address this and harness the communication power of new media.”

Are We Saying More By What We Don’t Say

So, if Social Media is now a true measure of our ability to help – what does it say when we don’t?

Since July, following heavy monsoon rains, Pakistan has been devastated by floods. At present, the estimates are that more than 2,000 people have died, more than a million homes have been destroyed, and more than 20 million people are injured or homeless.

So, you'd think the social media ecosphere would be all over it right?  You’d be wrong.

As of today, the largest Facebook page for relief in the Pakistani flood has approximately 2,000 “Likes”. Consider that four “Help Haiti” pages have more than 40,000 “Likes” and at least two (including Wyclef Jean’s have more than 140,000 each.  So, sure the Haiti pages have 8 months of age - but the numbers are just astronomical.

On Twitter, utilizing the Analytics tool Peoplebrowsr - the keyword “Pakistan” (I tried to keep it broad so as to capture “flood” “disaster” etc..) appears to have peaked at 25,000 tweets per day somewhere around the middle of August. Otherwise, over the last thirty days it has hovered right at the 10,000 tweets per day.   This would give it a total of 500,000 or so tweets over the last thirty days. Compare that to the 2.3 million tweets in the 48 hours following the Haiti Earthquake.

Also, just for perspective, in the eight days after flooding started in New Orleans, Americans gave at least $580 million for relief efforts. 17 days after the the earthquake struck Haiti, donors had contributed more than $560 million. And, sixteen days after Pakistan’s floods began, donations stand at just under $200 million.

Is it disaster fatigue, is it donor fatique – or is there something that we just don’t “Like” about this particular disaster?

I can't even begin to answer that one - but what I am clear on is that Social Media is powerful both when we use it - and when we don't.

3 Disasters – 3 Different Results

When Katrina hit in 2005 – we didn’t have Social Media. Would it have made a significant difference? I think it’s entirely possible that the unprecedented giving would have been even more pronounced.

When the Haiti earthquake struck in 2010, we had Social Media – and I think it showed the true power and speed of change that a connected network of people can create.

And, in looking at what’s happening with the Pakistani floods – I think it’s a question that will remain for us for some time.  Social Media brings a lot of power.  But just as powerful is that which the network chooses to ignore.

And by the way – here’s a link to a Google page with lots of options to give to the Pakistani Flood relief.