Good posts that came over the PeopleFinder email list today:

Top 5 reasons why this project is important (from Zack Rosen)

1. Microsoft (and thus the Red Cross) wants our data
2. KatrinaSafe is concentrating on data from shelters and ignoring data from the web. This is probably a good decision for them but data collected on the web is still important.
3. Nobody else is going to compile and de-dupe data from the web comprehensively, it is up to us
4. KatrinaSafe is only going to alert family members when survivors are found. There are lots of other valuable things we can do such as putting people in contact with each-other who are looking for the same person.
5. Microsoft won’t be around for all disasters. The tools and techniques we come up with need to be replicable.

And a sixth from Claudia aka “Green Democrats Correspondent”:

6. It is Open Source and People Powered. It is a clear demonstration of an American “Can Do” attitude and exemplifies progressive values.

With Microsoft’s help, the Red Cross built a database using data from its registrations and other sources. Marty Kearns of Network Centric Advocacy encouraged the PeopleFinder project to throw its data to Red Cross and to push for the Red Cross site to be the single authoritative search for evacuees and other Katrina victims, and family and friends searching for them. Marty’s suggestion implied a difficult question: should the PeopleFinder project end? Though I had been pushing from the first for a Red Cross connection, I told Marty when we talked that I didn’t think we should end the project, and I didn’t expect its devoted volunteers to simply stop gathering data and building tools to make the data and the search better. Following a conference call, project leaders announced that we would, of course, give the data to Microsoft.

But would we continue entering data? Data entry was on hold, ostensibly so that we could refine processes and get a better data entry form. Should we bring it back? Ultimately we got back to work, and we’re still entering data for KatrinaList, which is hosted by SalesForce.com.

Zack’s top-5 list above is a clarification of our raison d’etre. For background info, check out Marty’s post about the project at the Network Centric Advocacy blog.

Good posts that came over the PeopleFinder email list today:
Top 5 reasons why this project is important (from Zack Rosen)

Microsoft (and thus the Red Cross) wants our data
KatrinaSafe is concentrating on data from shelters and ignoring data from the web. This is probably a good decision for them but data collected on the [...]