Written by María Santoja
Last November 14, Typhoon Haiyan swept through the Philippines in one of the most terrible natural disasters in recent years. Both institutions and anonymous individuals have stepped forward to offer humanitarian aid to the victims. Specifically, the company Facebook has developed a tool that allows you to make donations for those affected by the typhoon in the Philippines through its social network.
This is the first time Facebook has run a fundraising campaign from its platform.
Donations through Facebook for Red Cross
During these days, Facebook users found on their wall a panel with the Red Cross Red Crescent logo, inviting them to make a donation of a fixed amount of 10€. Payment could be made either by credit card or through a PayPal account. In addition, the social network user could decide whether or not to let his or her contacts know that he or she had made this donation.
In fact, many campaigns have already been organized on Facebook to raise money for different causes, but they were always initiatives of users who used the social network to publicize their campaign. This time, however, it was Facebook itself that took the initiative to support those affected in the Philippines.
Donations with Tumblr and iTunes
Other large companies have also activated tools to make donations, such as Yahoo! through its Tumblr platform, or Apple with iTunes.
This is not the first time the donation option has been available on iTunes. On other occasions, such as with the 2011 Japan earthquake, iTunes also became a channel for donations to the Red Cross. This time, iTunes has activated the same tool: on the main page of the iTtunes Store a highlight appears inviting us to join and make a donation. Unlike the Facebook tool, in iTunes we can choose from six amounts ranging from €5 to €150.
This is an example of how social networks can be a fantastic tool to encourage social mobilization.
The role that social networks have played in political revolutions such as the Arab Spring, or in the search for missing persons in natural disasters such as this one in the Philippines, is indisputable.
However, it is now the technology companies themselves that are playing an active role in promoting donations.
So far, this type of tool has The only time they have been activated to raise funds has been in natural disasters, and not in other types of situations that could compromise the impartiality and distance that these large companies seek today. But it’s all a start.
