I have recently written about the 41,000 architectural jobs lost in the first three quarters of 2009, as determined by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Having held one of those lost positions, this number really struck me – my personal story of architectural unemployment had been playing out in thousands of homes across the nation. Fortunately I ended ’09 with a great new job; but I also gained a renewed sense of professional purpose for this blog.

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to use online tools and social networks to help restore some of those architectural jobs. Feel free to ask, “how could that be done?” I’m asking that question too, and discussing it with others. Though still searching, I am finding hope in a most unlikely situation – the aftermath of Haiti’s devastating earthquake. There we see powerful and effective use of technology to fund the rescue and to promote the restoration of the Haitian people.

Keep in mind; these technological gains are apart from the generosity of entertainment celebrities who have offered their talents in the Hope for Haiti Now Telethon and a host of other venues. They are also distinct from the tens of millions offered by corporations and the even greater totals pledged by the US government and other nations. Beyond these traditional mass means of relief, technology has allowed the individual concerned citizen to give and to effect change directly.

As of Friday, January 22nd (ten days after the quake) the American Red Cross had raised the most money of the agencies involved. Approximately $3,000,000 (30%) of the Red Cross donations came in $10 increments through their popular “text ‘Haiti’ to 90999″ campaign. These texted funds tower over amounts similarly given after the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 or hurricane Katrina in 2005 – evidence that mobile-text giving has emerged as potent means of fund-raising.

Another technology-based aspect of the Haiti earthquake aftermath is a digital message board hosted by the New York Times where loved ones have posted photos and details of missing family members. I suppose the site serves primarily as a notification system whereby relief workers on the ground in can identify and provide status updates of the people pictured. The site has another far-reaching purpose. It serves to shift our understanding of the story, to help us process it in on a more human scale; to hope and pray for the rescue of that specific smiling face rather than a generic anonymous victim. It provides names and context as a focus for our compassion.

Of course, the scope and intensity of the Haiti earthquake overpower our day-to-day concerns, even those of deep and prolonged unemployment. The magnitude of human suffering in Haiti quickly puts our professional struggles into perspective. We should however take note of the new uses of technology and seek to apply their funding and networking capabilities to the needs in our own field.

Thank you for caring. Please share you thoughts and ideas.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!