Introducing Facebook's New Safety Check

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Do people really check Facebook the minute a natural disaster strikes in an area where friends and family live?
We want to provide a helpful tool that people can use when major disasters strike, so we’ve created Safety Check – a simple and easy way to say you’re safe and check on others. During a major disaster, Safety Check will help you:
  • Let friends and family know you’re safe
  • Check on others in the affected area
  • Mark your friends as safe
  • Only your friends will see your safety status and the comments you share
Click to expand...
 
People will post on Facebook before they call 911 when they are hurt or in trouble. This isn't too surprising.
 
I would like mine to work like the "everything's ok alarm". Post every minute as long as everything is ok.

mastablasta is safe
mastablasta is safe
mastablasta is safe
mastablasta is safe
mastablasta is safe
mastablasta is safe
mastablasta is safe
 
I would use this. You guys are just being lame.

This is not one of those 'tweet a selfie with the fire before calling 911 things'. It is a quick way to let everyone who cares enough to look know that you are safe.

In the 'old days' you would have 1 out of town relative designated as your person. You would call them and give them updates. The rest of the family would call that person (or that person calling others) to spread the word.
 
MaddBomber83 said:
I would use this. You guys are just being lame.

This is not one of those 'tweet a selfie with the fire before calling 911 things'. It is a quick way to let everyone who cares enough to look know that you are safe.

In the 'old days' you would have 1 out of town relative designated as your person. You would call them and give them updates. The rest of the family would call that person (or that person calling others) to spread the word.
Click to expand...

If it's a bad enough disaster, network will be down or over-used so it won't work for a lot of people. If it's a bad one, I expect internet, phone, cell, power to be down. Portable ham radio's will work, CB will work.

Other small stuff? Maybe. I just don't know a lot of people that would post to it for updates, so it wouldn't be worth much to me. Text message, phone call would work, too (if those were down, I'd assume cell and network was down, so no FB status, anyway).
 
Ur_Mom said:
If it's a bad enough disaster, network will be down or over-used so it won't work for a lot of people. If it's a bad one, I expect internet, phone, cell, power to be down. Portable ham radio's will work, CB will work.

Other small stuff? Maybe. I just don't know a lot of people that would post to it for updates, so it wouldn't be worth much to me. Text message, phone call would work, too (if those were down, I'd assume cell and network was down, so no FB status, anyway).
Click to expand...
if the disaster is catastrophic enough that it knocks us all back to ham radios then you're right, it probably wouldn't be too helpful. but I'm sure you can think of some scenarios in between the broad range of "everyone is dead" to "nothing to see here" where this might be useful if you try hard enough
 
Ur_Mom said:
If it's a bad enough disaster, network will be down or over-used so it won't work for a lot of people. If it's a bad one, I expect internet, phone, cell, power to be down. Portable ham radio's will work, CB will work.

Other small stuff? Maybe. I just don't know a lot of people that would post to it for updates, so it wouldn't be worth much to me. Text message, phone call would work, too (if those were down, I'd assume cell and network was down, so no FB status, anyway).
Click to expand...

Yeup; if you are in the disaster area; and if you are in the disaster area..... GET OFF FACEBOOK!

We are talking about once you are clear of the area and safe. For my family it would be on the road to Vegas. I know we would get cell signal before reaching there because my kids consider any area without coverage as a disaster area.
 
mope54 said:
if the disaster is catastrophic enough that it knocks us all back to ham radios then you're right, it probably wouldn't be too helpful. but I'm sure you can think of some scenarios in between the broad range of "everyone is dead" to "nothing to see here" where this might be useful if you try hard enough
Click to expand...

I'm thinking like Katrina or an earthquake. Something that will probably take power out or overwhelm cell phones or kill the network or whatever. Nothing catastrophic, but enough to disrupt communication. If communication is out, this is out. If communication is in, then I don't see it as a huge emergency requiring everyone to check in. There are probably a few things - fire at work, etc., but they'd be texting/calling you before they checked Facebook or before you checked in.

I can see the benefit. I just can't see the use for it as being too wide. Nothing wrong with the service, I just can't see it being used that much...
 
I can't speak about things like Katrina because we don't have hurricanes in the Westland. Did it take all communications out?

Here in California we have earthquakes and fires that are significant enough to cause concern for loved ones in a large enough geographical area to use this kind of service and our communications won't be knocked out (haven't been yet, but then again who knows when "The Big One" hits).

Useful in California (FaceBook is in California) but maybe not so much elsewhere...but then again it's not like California or Facebook cares much about anyone else anyway :D
 
mope54 said:
I can't speak about things like Katrina because we don't have hurricanes in the Westland. Did it take all communications out?

Here in California we have earthquakes and fires that are significant enough to cause concern for loved ones in a large enough geographical area to use this kind of service and our communications won't be knocked out (haven't been yet, but then again who knows when "The Big One" hits).

Useful in California (FaceBook is in California) but maybe not so much elsewhere...but then again it's not like California or Facebook cares much about anyone else anyway :D
Click to expand...

Maybe like the quake in 89(?). The little ones, do you worry about? I'm in Oregon, so we don't have a whole lot to worry about. I guess we did have a natural gas explosion a while back that people were wondering if others were ok. I don't think I'd go check in on Facebook, though. Maybe if it was a single click on the mobile site...
 
you must be near portland because the bottom half of your state burned up this summer!

I have family all south of Roseburg
 
seems like people not from California worry more about earthquakes than Californians so I wouldn't personally go checking up on Facebook but I know that people would check up on me :)
 
MaddBomber83 said:
I would use this. You guys are just being lame.

This is not one of those 'tweet a selfie with the fire before calling 911 things'. It is a quick way to let everyone who cares enough to look know that you are safe.

In the 'old days' you would have 1 out of town relative designated as your person. You would call them and give them updates. The rest of the family would call that person (or that person calling others) to spread the word.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'm no fan of a lot of the things Facebook does, but I'm fine with this.
 
mope54 said:
you must be near portland because the bottom half of your state burned up this summer!

I have family all south of Roseburg
Click to expand...

Eastern Oregon. We used to have chemical weapons, but those are gone. I guess we could have a bad dust storm or a cattle stampede... :)

Good idea, but I just don't see it being used as much as it could be. What happens if you don't use the service or just didn't check in? Oh, boy. Wife or mom gets pissed because you didn't check in...
 
mastaBlasta said:
I would like mine to work like the "everything's ok alarm". Post every minute as long as everything is ok.

mastablasta is safe
mastablasta is safe
mastablasta is safe
mastablasta is safe
mastablasta is safe
mastablasta is safe
mastablasta is safe
Click to expand...

Ahh, the classic canary in the coal mine method!

mastablasta.canary is safe
mastablasta.canary is safe
mastablasta.canary is safe
mastablasta.canary is safe
mastablasta.canary is safe


*silence*


Oh shit!
 
im absolutely fine with this.

my only concern is if it was implemented in a way that used absolutely minimal cellular data.
 
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