Fri, September 2nd, 2005 by Brandon Stone
I've been working on a website for the past couple of days that I hope will help the victims of the hurricane Katrina disaster and their families. I've just finished enough programming to make the site operational. We've also purchased a dedicated server just for this website, so it should be able to withstand quite a bit of traffic.
Family and friends continue to search for people displaced by Hurricane Katrina. This new web registry will allow someone to search for a specific person instead of combing message boards organized by city.
Survivors can register "I'm OK" or have someone else register for them that "I'm OK." Aid stations and relief centers can use this registry to assist people in making their whereabouts visible to their family and friends.
The search side of the site allows for a specific pinpoint search for a person by household rather than generic searches by city or name. All the search requires is the person's telephone number from before the disaster. Family and friends searching for the same person can communicate with each other through the message board tied to that phone number.
We need your help to make this registry known ASAP. Please forward this link to people you know who may be searching for people affected by the disaster. If you can post links to the site from your own blogs, that would also be a great help.
Anything you can do to spread the word about this project will be most appreciated.
Thanks everyone,
Brandon
September 2nd, 2005 at 6:42 pm
Such a great and wonderful idea Brandon. Who knows just how many lives and minds it will touch. Well done. You've done a great thing here...
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:17 pm
Brandon: Great idea. It's probably a work in progress, but I'd suggest adding some more info on the page to make it a little friendlier. People might be worried about giving info to a site when they don't know much about it or who made it or what the motivation is.
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:46 pm
Absolutely, David... It is a work in progress. I'll add the information that you suggested as soon as I can. (Most likely tomorrow.)
These types of suggestions are most welcome.
I've been working on this project basically non-stop for the past couple of days so I need to call it in for the night and get some rest.
I just hope that this effort can help in some way.
Oh... also, I've recently been told that they're printing out fliers with the web address and shipping them on trucks that are going to aid in the relief effort.
It's really nice to hear that people are doing what they can to spread the word.
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:46 pm
Also, I wanted to say thanks to Jessyel for the kind words.
September 2nd, 2005 at 9:17 pm
I am one of the Metroblogging city captain and I'll make sure that it shows up on Metroblogging New Orleans.
Great idea!
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:34 pm
Katrina "I'm OK" Registry & More
Brandon Stone, who is well known for creating Photoblogs.org has just released the Katrina "I'm OK" registry so that the victims of the hurricane, their friends and relatives can find each other simply by using their primary phone number. For...
September 3rd, 2005 at 12:16 am
what shame,the world is looking at us with disgust.how could this happen here in a america.god be with us,we realy need it
September 3rd, 2005 at 1:03 am
Let's try to be positive now roger! My heartfelt thanks to you Brandon for doing this. I'll make sure to spread the news around.
September 3rd, 2005 at 12:11 pm
Great idea Brandon - I sent the link to our local newspaper and I've already seen it up on several websites. Thanks.
September 3rd, 2005 at 3:14 pm
great idea brandon, simple & elegant design. Gold flows through your veins.
September 3rd, 2005 at 3:48 pm
This is a fantastic idea, Brandon. I would definitely recommend enlarging those three informational boxes though, so they become the center of attention on the pages. You might put them at the top, just underneath that logo. Great work though, thanks for helping.
September 8th, 2005 at 1:22 pm
How many of these sites are already out there? Probably lots.. (ie the red cross suggested one: http://www.familylinks.icrc.org/katrina)
Why would people need another one? It just makes it that much harder for the people you're trying to help because now they have another resource to enter their info into...
It would be a great idea Brandon, if it wasn't already available elsewhere. I hope you're not just taking advantage of this disaster to somehow benefit from it yourself..
This is just what I see from where I sit.
Otherwise, your efforts are appreciated, as always.
September 8th, 2005 at 7:09 pm
Miklos: CNN ran an article on the problems with duplication of efforts to reunite refugees:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/09/08/katrina.data.ap/index.html?section=cnn_tech
As for your comment: "I hope you're not just taking advantage of this disaster to somehow benefit from it yourself.. This is just what I see from where I sit."
Try sitting someplace else, or maybe raise your cynicism in private - questioning Brandon's motivations in a public forum says way more about your agenda than it does about his.
September 9th, 2005 at 3:06 am
Miklos: I am truly amazed by your post. You're right in saying that a duplication of efforts can be problematic (that's stating the obvious) but what if it helps re unite 1 single person with another that makes it worthwhile.
I am pretty sure that if I had lost my mother in these circumstances I would be eternally grateful for anyones help in finding her.
Put yourself in their predicament not yours.
September 14th, 2005 at 7:37 am
djn & shots: Thank you for your input. Brandon and I have talked it over, and all I can do is apologize and ask everyone to disregard my previous note. I strongly believe that "nobody does anything strictly out of the goodness of their heart, without getting something in return to benefit themselves", but by talking to Brandon about this, it seems that I might be proved wrong.
Brandon, I hope you accept my apology.
September 14th, 2005 at 4:35 pm
Thanks Miklos. I appreciate it.