After reading the Article Technology's Impact on Disaster Relief, (http://forums.techsoup.org/cs/community/b/tsblog/archive/2012/10/31/technologys-impact-on-disaster-relief.aspx) , it is easy to see the many ways that technology and in particular social media can help with communication in disaster relief efforts. From interactive maps that show flood areas to sites like Twitter.com that allow people to communicate during a disaster there are many new ways to use these technological advances to assist people in the wake of a disaster. The article does not address however, the potential negative impacts that increased reliance on these tools could have. Not everyone, has access to these options, the elderly and those living in poverty are two groups in particular that may have limited experience with or access to new internet based tools and are also some of the groups most vulnerable in a disaster. By relying too heavily on new technology do we risk missing, ignoring or replacing other avenues of communication to help underserved populations during a disaster? By focusing only on the pros do we miss the limitations of these methods of communication?
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