Jeff Jarvis of BuzzMachine has been interviewed for National Public Radio’s On The Media about Recovery 2.0 – a citizen driven initiative to consolidate relief efforts and plan for future events like Hurricane Katrina. Recovery 2.0 is a great example of how “the people” can take initiative using the tools of the Net to help people where the government response has been inadequate.
Recovery 2.0 demonstrates perfectly the power and value of citizen driven, online and mobile engagement. Recovery 2.0 is an open source disaster recovery initiative of and for the people. It has been established in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The folks behind Recovery 2.0 are pioneers in a movement which must become global and do so before there are more disasters of the proportions of Katrina.
For years newspaper publishers have been critical of citizen journalism initiatives and socially conscious websites like craigslist. These things newspapers have been critical of have been essential in the US in the days since Katrina as they have provided a living notice board through which problems can be solved. Without hysteria and without it costing anything.
If newspaper publishers wondered about the value of citizen driven and other online initiatives compared to their traditional offerings then Recovery 2.0 is essential reading. It illustrates the community setting its own agenda and creating its own conversations about the agenda.
Recovery 2.0 ought to be supported by governments from around the world.
