By Jill Nelson

The Haitian earthquake crisis will be remembered as the moment in which the technology and platforms that enable social networking were used and transformed by ordinary citizens—the period when Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and other social networking sites became agents of change, and technology transcended commercialism, politics, personality, and trivia.

Social networking sites not only disseminated information, but also small donor philanthropy on a massive scale. As of January 18, six days after the earthquake hit, the Red Cross had raised $22 million through $10 text donations. In contrast, text donations raised just $200,000 over the entire 2008 hurricane season.

In Iran in June 2009 and at this moment in response to the earthquake in Haiti, the ubiquitous technology of cell phones and computers are being used to inform a world community. In Iran, this technology was able to circumvent efforts by a repressive government to close the borders of the information highway. Social networking sites provided us with irrefutable evidence of the voices, images, and actions of both dissidents and authorities.

In Haiti, the 7.0 earthquake on January 12 effectively destroyed all the institutions crucial to a functioning society and blacked out the country from the rest of the world. For the first hours immediately following the quake, with only intermittent radio contact, it was individuals’ cell phones and their cameras, Skype, emails sent from hand held devices, Twitter, Facebook, and other sites that accounted for communication between Haiti and the rest of the world.

The technology was utilized both as a source of information and as a portal through which to engage in citizen activism. A text via Twitter, limited to 140 characters, was the perfect medium to both solicit and seamlessly send and receive donations. The technology was crucial in involving younger people not connected to more traditional ways of charitable giving. The ability to respond immediately via text message, either to musician/activist Wyclef Jean’s YELE 501501—which to date has raised several million dollars—or Red Cross’s HAITI 90999, and effortlessly make a $5 or $10 contribution to Haiti relief efforts, was a transformative moment.

Similarly, information on Facebook, other social networking sites, and the barrage of emails from organizations involved in relief work created a virtual bucket brigade, with forwarded text updates, solicitations and donations taking the place of buckets of water passed from hand to hand to hand.

I’ve long been skeptical of the need for and quality of our society’s 24-7 virtual discourse. I wrestle with both the need to always be connected and available to others and the seduction of the technologies that make this possible. Is it likely, once seduced, to tune out, be alone in your head, just say no? I suspect the answer to these questions will be a long time coming, if ever.

What is certain is that in the last week the amazing possibilities and benefits of social networking as tools for disseminating much needed information and responding to crisis, for activism by average people, were made real. What is too often a forum for naval gazing, self promotion and commerce became an indispensable tool in the creation of global democratic communities, ones that encourage not only acts of charitable giving, but in the short and hopefully the long run, civic engagement and activism.

Jill Nelson is a journalist and author of five books. She lectures widely on race, gender, politics and media.