A couple of researchers at University of Maryland want us to log into MySpace the next time disaster strikes.
Ben Shneiderman and Jennifer Preece are applying for a grant to build a social network website similar to MySpace or Facebook to help people deal with the after-effects of an earthquake, flood, or a limited thermonuclear exchange. They’re working on the theory that emergency call centers will be flooded with calls, and that you’ll be able to get life-saving help from the “many-to-many” information exchange of social network websites instead.
I don’t know. If my face is sloughing off from radiation burns, I’m not sure I want to depend on treatment options from the collective wisdom of Gothgurl97 and Buffyluvr105.
You can find the New Scientist story here.
Important follow-up!
And just in time, the International Atomic Energy Authority has created a new sign to help us know when to run from radiation. We can only assume this is a joke. Nope. It’s serious.
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