As we mark the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, I'm feeling rather glum about whether we've been able to make constructive use of what we saw and what we learned during that tragedy.
In volunteering with the Katrina PeopleFinder Project, I found a lot to celebrate in the geek emergency response, and John McNutt was quick to point out the internet's potential as a second social welfare delivery system.
But a year later, I'm not sure whether we've made a year's worth of progress. I had hoped that teams from the Katrina PeopleFinder Project, the City Cares/Hands-On Network, and the Community Technology Center Network would join together to do advance preparation and training that would not merely replicate but improve upon the online services that an ad hoc network was able to offer in the wake of Katrina.
In the weeks that followed Katrina, I did my best to advocate for collaboration and planning among these various teams. Of course, most of them were focusing on mitigating life-threatening situations, and couldn't spare much time for long term planning. Perhaps it's time to restart that discussion.
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