Like some of the worst disasters, it lasted for only one minute. After a massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake rocked the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, on Tuesday, Jan. 12; the government nearly collapsed and citizens were left to fend for themselves with inadequate resources.

Shock, grief and awe played upon the faces of Haitian men, women and children in the viral photos and videos that hit the Web that day. It hurt to watch. I wanted to help, but how?

Just like every other day, I texted, tweeted and posted. My first reaction was to grab my phone and get more information, and though my phone’s main uses are entertaining, communicating or informing, organizations like the Red Cross, Direct Relief International and USAID gave my phone another use: donating.

textingThe Red Cross arranged a now-famous text message campaign that raised more than $3 million in its first 24 hours for the ravaged people of Haiti. Direct Relief and USAID followed a similar track and also created mobile giving drives. Those texts and tweets helped turn the relief effort into a social trend that raised millions.

Wendy Harman, social media manager for the Red Cross, tweeted her wish that this texting drive would make history on Jan. 12. “We may break a mobile giving record today,” she posted.

And they did.  More people donated by text for Haitian relief than ever before, with more than 2.5 million texting “Haiti” to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross.

Mobile giving wasn’t the only game-changing tactic used to bring relief to victims of the quake. Haitianquake.com was a Web site created to help Haitians contact their missing loved ones. The site was up within a day, and it compiled information from the Red Cross.

The site then merged with Google, and it’s now available here. This project is currently tracking more than 46,000 records, making it that much easier for people to locate their misplaced family.

Other campaigns that helped fund disaster relief for Haiti include:

· Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief- a global telethon hosted by MTV and aired in over 60 countries, which raised $58 million on Jan. 22. The broadcast was hosted by Wyclef Jean, George Clooney and Anderson Cooper and featured artists like Bruce Springsteen, Mary J. Blige, Justin Timberlake and Wyclef himself, whose uncle is Raymond Joseph, Haiti’s ambassador to the U.S. It was difficult to stop from donating my savings account after hearing J.T.’s croon “Hallelujah,” originally written by Leonard Cohen, and I think that was the point.

· Apple iTunes donation page for relief- a page on the iTunes interface that included buttons to donate up to $200 from your iTunes account to the Red Cross. I’m pretty surprised there wasn’t an app for that. You can also download the “Hope for Haiti” CD on iTunes for $7.99. All proceeds go to a number of humanitarian organizations, including UNICEF, Red Cross and Yele Haiti.

· Zynga, the software company behind the games on Facebook and MySpace, started a relief fund for users to buy limited edition social goods in FarmVille, Mafia Wars and Zynga Poker. All proceeds went to the United Nations World Food Programme as part of the earthquake relief effort.

· IGN, Imagine Games Network, hosted a 12-hour webathon on Jan. 27. IGN editors played non-stop video game matches, and employees pledged money for each level earned during play. IGN also auctioned several items, mostly gaming related, in a special eBay auction to raise money for Habitat for Humanity.

Though the ability to donate by text and through social platforms is a massive breakthrough for humanitarian groups, some low-lifes took advantage of the earthquake disaster and sent fake e-mails asking for emergency contributions. These donations most likely went straight into the pockets of a few con artists.

The FBI urged those who receive appeals to donate to use a critical eye before donating, and that includes researching the legitimacy of the organization, not opening attachments in sketchy e-mails and not responding to unsolicited e-mails.

With the advent of more advanced means to donate comes a risk: scammers. My blood boils to know that there are people who are willing to trick and cheat to profit from those trying to aid a quake-stricken people, but there will always be those who would rather have money than integrity. Watch out for them.

And don’t forget about Haiti; it has to be rebuilt, you know. You can still donate to the Red Cross by going to their Web site or texting 90999. Third-world countries are anything but resilient, so whip out your phone and donate.

Related articles:

  1. Is sex causing the pain?
  2. One Free Gift Card, Please. Oh Wait. You Mean For Real?
  3. Beer Pants
  4. Wyoming Man Orchestrates Craigslist Rape, Internet Found Responsible