Nobody is immune to natural disaster. We know it. Facebook knows it. There’s been several times where I’ve used Facebook to reach out to friends in harm’s way, or they’ve checked on me during disasters. Facebook wants to make this process even easier.
They introduce Facebook Safety Check. When disaster strikes your area, Facebook will give you a check-up notification. For example, if your town, city or county is hit by a severe thunderstorm, tornado or earthquake, Facebook will ask if you’re okay, based on where you are. That will be based on a city in your profile, last location, and/or the city you’re using the Internet in. You can select “I’m Safe” and have it put to your news feed. If your friends are in a danger zone, you can see their ‘I’m Safe’ notification on your page. Unfortunately, there has been too many disasters since Facebook’s inception in the mid-2000s. But what inspired the social media conglomerate to incorporate this app was the devastating Japanese earthquake and tsunami of March 2011. Facebook’s Japanese engineers saw how important social media was for relief workers to communicate to disaster victims, and victims to connect to each other. That’s how the Director Message Board was born, and the response was swift.
From that perspective, I respect and applaud what Facebook is doing.? During these times of crisis, social media is sometimes the only means of communication that can be had. But personally, I’m not that big of a fan of Facebook Safety Check. If my city were to be hit with danger, I’d want to send out a personal message to assure everyone of my safety, and I’d like a Facebook friend to personally contact me if they’ve been through something. I’ve seen an example of the safety check message and it just sounds too generic. Wouldn’t you rather get a personal message from a real family member, friend, colleague, or significant other in times of trouble?