Some related posts from Technorati and Google.

[Stephenson blogs on homeland security 2.0 et al.] Google.org funds emergency program that sounds very familiar”¦: That message could then be broadcast to anyone subscribed to his messages, including aid workers at UNICEF or InSTEDD’s headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., which could show his location and note on a Google Earth map.

 [Webware.com] Twitter, Facebook called on for higher purpose: "We're not talking about pulling the red phone out of the bottom drawer here," said Rasmussen, a former adviser to U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense, referring to Twitter and Facebook. "We're talking about using ubiquitous, free software that is repurposed when necessary to fit into a humanitarian need."

 [Original Signal - Transmitting Web 2.0] Twitter, Facebook called on for higher purpose: Larry Brilliant(Credit: Google)InSTEDD is the brainchild of Google.org's executive director, epidemiologist Dr. Larry Brilliant, who conceived of it nearly two years ago when he won the TED prize, a grant-making wish foundation that .

 [Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim] InSTEDD: Not Just A Misspelled Website: Unless they’ll be recruiting their own meteorologists and epidemiologists (incidentally, Google.org’s executive director is an epidemiologist), I’m not sure that Facebook and Twitter are going to be a more efficient method for warning people of impending danger—unless we’re worried about saving the 24/7 Facebook addicts. What I do see potential for is coordinating volunteers and support.

 [All Points Blog] Non-profit Uses Free Tech/Grants to Enable Communications During ...: That way, for example, Rasmussen could send a message about a patient with untreated symptoms in Laos via SMS on his phone, which might only have one signal bar of service. That message could then be broadcast to anyone subscribed to his messages, including aid workers at UNICEF or InSTEDD's headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., which could show his location and note on a Google Earth map.

[Make it Known!] Google Invests $5 Million in InSTEDD to Warn of Disasters and to ...: I think this is a great move on the part of Google to facilitate an online network to notify and reach out to their communities of known friends and neighbors to have an impact, to help in a time of disaster and emergency. Think of the sheer volume of numbers of people frequenting these sites, and if even 1% of these people reach out and dispatch themselves to a disaster situation the end result will be powerful indeed.

Reflected tags on Technorati: Blog, Google Earth, Geotags.org