Bloggery » March 20th, 2011
Google Person Finder for Japan Victims
Google has created a Person Finder device for Web users looking friends and families in the quake and tsunami affected areas of Japan.The device can be accessed in English and Japanese. Users can select the “I’m looking for someone” link or the “I have information about someone” link and enter the information they know. Search can be done by entering names in part or full, or in the event you have information, you can enter the relatives name or given name to generate a new entry. Google stressed that all information entered is available to the public and viewable and usable by someone. The search giant also does not review or confirm the information entered in to the system, after the immediate crisis has passed, Google archives the information.
At this point, the process is currently tracking about 7,200 records.After 2005′s Hurricane Katrina in the U.S, a variety of organizations created missing person registries, making it difficult to keep track. As a result, Google Person Finder accepts information from other registries using a common format known as PFIF, which was established by volunteers of the Katrina People Finder Project. Google engineers built the first Google Person Finder after the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti.The program has an API, which lets press agencies, non-governmental agencies and others contribute to the database and get updates. Websites can also embed Google Person Finder as a gadget on their own pages.
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