Digital media industry leads relief effort

Social media and tech giants are leading the way in collecting money for relief efforts in earthquake hit Haiti, proving that social networks really do bring people together.

Apple has set up a donation page within the iTunes store where customers can easily donate to the Red Cross.

Google has pledged $1 million and set up a special page for donations and added updated satellite imagery of the region to Google Maps.

Microsoft has said it will give up to $1.25 million in cash and in-kind donations, as well as match employee contributions as part of its standard program that matches up to $12,000 per worker in donations each year.

A campaign by the Red Cross and the cellular industry to raise money via text message donations has pulled in more than $4 million, according to a Verizon Wireless spokesman.

The text message-based donations mark a major shift in the means of charitable giving. According to Verizon Wireless, the $4 million in SMS donations has now eclipsed text message donations among all carriers for all of 2009.

A chorus of tweets requesting aid and donations for those worst hit by the earthquake in Haiti have been spreading across the web.

Social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook have quickly grown to become an integral part of aid organizations’ fund-raising campaigns over the last two days. A host of 140-character messages have spread over the internet to reach thousands of eyes in the space of seconds.

Facebook statuses also changed, urging followers to help those stranded in grief-stricken areas through monetary donations to reputable organizations.

Haiti-born musician (formally of The Fugees fame) Wyclef Jean’s foundation “Yele” has also reportedly helped raise over $400,000 in text-message donations.

Websites have sprung up overnight in light of the disaster, including http://koneksyon.com/, a website dedicated to helping people find their missing loved ones in Haiti.