We really need your help - Join the Katrina PeopleFinder Project

[sarahlee]

Donated money? Please donate a little time. Join the Katrina PeopleFinder Project.

I've been working put this together this week and now we need more help. Most of the shelters are also putting up "lost and found" bulletin boards and we need people who can get names from those boards. Here is the spiel - pass it on:

It's easy. All you need is an internet connection and the ability to copy data into a form.

http://192.122.183.218/wiki/index.php/PeopleFinderVolunteer

After Katrina many friends and family members have been separated and left with no clear way to find each other. Hundreds of internet web sites are gathering hundreds, and probably thousands, of entries about missing persons or persons who want to let others know they’re okay.

The problem is: the data on these sites has no particular form or structure. So it's almost impossible for people to search or match things up. Plus there are dozens of sites - making it hard for a person seeking lost loved ones to search them all.

The Katrina PeopleFinder Project NEEDS YOUR HELP to enter data about missing and found people from various online sources. We’re requesting as little as an hour of your time. All you need to do is help read unstructured posts about missing or found persons, and then add the relevant data to a database through a simple online form.

To get started please click here:

http://192.122.183.218/wiki/index.php/PeopleFinderVolunteer

Questions? Email katrina-people (at) activist-tech.org

Thanks!!!
The Katrina PeopleFinder Team

[chalky]

1. I'm in! Recommending & Kicked!

n/t

[soup]

2. Finally, something I can do to help.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! for posting this.

Bookmarked, recommended, and I've signed up to help.

again, thank you!

[sarahlee]

3. Thank you!

This is something FEMA or the Red Cross should have had on-line immediately, but since they didn't, many good people and organizations started their own systems - now no one knows where to go.

[sarahlee]

4. I have to get back to work

so can't watch this thread. And since "my posts" is turned off I am afraid I won't find it again if it drops off the front page, so I hope some good souls will help keep it kicked to give the morning crew a chance to see it.

Thanks in advance...

[bee]

5. excellent idea. count me in. n/t

[shraby]

6. Thank you.

I have some people who may be interested as well.

[Der Blaue Engel]

7. This is wonderful, thank you!

Finally, something useful I can do instead of just feeling despair and rage.

Thanks for putting this together!

Kicked and nominated!

[sarahlee]

8. Buttons for your websites and blogs

Get the HTML for linking here:
http://rconversation.blogs.com/rconversation/2005/09/katrina_data_pr.html

[burrowowl]

9. KICK!

[expatriate]

10. I'm in!

Thank God, something I can do to help.

[Robeson]

11. Mod's, this should be put on the front page, or have a separate banner...

...its something, while we're all feeling hopeless, we can do. Please think about it.

[Draill]

12. Kick for the AM n/t

[soup]

13. kick

:kick:

[soup]

14. Quite possibly the stupidest question ever

How do I check to see if the information I've entered is publicly posted where it's supposed to be? Is there a 'master list' where it appears?

Does my question make any sense whatsoever?

wiki-idiot carrying on...

:kick:

[blondeatlast]

15. I guess I'm the second dumbest, but I had the same question! nt

[soup]

16. WooHoo! um, er, partners in stupidity?

LOL

:hug:

[blondeatlast]

18. Note my hair color!

Backatcha!

[sarahlee]

26. The query form for the database

is being worked on right now. That is being done by someone on the Salesforce.com side of the project volunteers - will see if I can get an estimated time for completion and let you know.

[blondeatlast]

17. How doable is this for a wiki-newbie? The last thing I want to do

is mess something up so that someone can't find the person they are looking for.

My PC skills are quite advanced, so...?

[soup]

20. It's very doable.

If I can, anyone can. trust me on this one. I'm totally incompetent and a computer dunce.

Once you get a 'rhythm' going, and repeatedly steel yourself from the unbearable heartbreak (do not break down - just keep going knowing you may be helping someone find a loved one), it's simply copy and paste, fill in the blanks.

I'm just trying to figure out what's happened to all the data I've entered, cause I'm an idjit. :crazy:

[blondeatlast]

21. Thanks. I gotta take a break before I jump in, I'm already upset.

I'll give it a try later--thanks!

[soup]

22. Update: just completed a 'block' that included 38 people.

There's so many - so many. :cry:

Took a little over 2 hours total, which included figuring out what the heck to do and how to do it. Now if I just knew where it all went... :dunce:

[blondeatlast]

24. As long as those who need it can find it, I'll deal with the uncertainty.

doing that is better than sitting here getting even more PO'ed than I already am!

I LOVE this idea, I so hope it helps.

[expatriate]

19. This is a way to help

Kick

[blondeatlast]

23. YES! I did it--Baton Rouge.

It's so easy--just read the direx very carefully.

:kick:
:kick:
:kick:

[sarahlee]

25. Message for techies

If you know some geeks please pass this on:

From: David Geilhufe
Sent: Monday, September 05, 2005 10:16 AM
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Redundancy and Pattern Scanning


Our specification the PeopleFinder Interchange Format is designed to address redundancy.

Let a thousand flowers bloom and make sure they can all talk to one another.

We need people to convince others to write feed that conform to the PFIF specification linked to off the Tech wiki http://192.122.183.218/wiki/index.php/PeopleFinderTech

Please find me some people. Thanks.

******************
David Geilhufe
dgeilhufe /socialsourcefoundation /org
(use sparingly, in information overload)
IM on yahoo: dgeilhufe /yahoo /com
(use sparingly, in information overload)

KATRINA PEOPLEFINDER PROJECT
Social Source Foundation, CivicSpace Labs and Salesforce.com
Foundation are coordinating an open community effort to aggregate refugee data from accross the web.
Current information: http://socialsource.blogspot.com/

[soup]

27. I have no idea what you just said.

But can offer a :kick: to get this back on the first page for a few minutes and hope you get the needed help.

[sarahlee]

28. LOL!

Understood. Those who can help will understand.

BTW anyone wanting some background info on the project can read it here:
http://socialsource.blogspot.com/

I got involved through a list serv I am on of Democrat canidates campaign techies - most of us have been involved with CivicSpace Labs.

Appreciate the kick - folks can also help by letting other websites and blogs know about the work and asking them to put a button up.

http://192.122.183.218/wiki/index.php/PeopleFinderMarketingLists

[blondeatlast]

34. If you are old enough, you may remember the "I bought *** shampoo

and liked it so much that I told two friends, and they told two friends, and they told two friends"--ad infinitum.

Kind of like telephone on a grand scale.

I'm not certain this is quite what it means, but I think I'm in the right ballpark, anyway.

[sarahlee]

36. Regretably

I am old enough to remember the commercials.

What it really means is getting other sites collecting data from people to do it in a way that allows a computer program to pull it out automatically.

For example, Yahoo techies created a search bot to go around the web looking for the messages - we are working with them to get it collected in a particular format that our bots can pull it out into a searchable relational database.

[sarahlee]

29. Lots of ways to help

Help with data entry.
http://192.122.183.218/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Help spread the word to the media and other websites, forums and blogs.

http://192.122.183.218/wiki/index.php/PeopleFinderMarketing

http://192.122.183.218/wiki/index.php/PeopleFinderMarketingLists

We are making real progress but some more man hours still needed - the need will probably continue for a few weeks until we get everything consolodated at the Red Cross site and we get people to stop posting at the other sites.

[AverageJoe]

30. Kicked

:kick:

[expatriate]

31. Please, people, consider this!

I did five "chunks" of 25 messages each last night. It's a little daunting at first, but once you get the flow of it, it goes real fast.

If you could help even one person find someone they care for, it would be a wonderful thing.

I know what it's like not knowing if someone survived or not.

An hour of computer time is not much to give up.

Please, check this out - and keep the thread kicked.

[expatriate]

32. Kick n/t

[Robeson]

33. kick

[sarahlee]

35. Kick n/t

[texpatriot2004]

37. kick it for help with this n/t

[Draill]

38. Kick n/t

[Draill]

39. Kick n/t

[Draill]

40. Kick