Social Media and Mobile Devices in Japan’s Earthquake

Roughly one month after the devastating earthquake in Japan, this MSNBC News video shows us an update of how Japanese use social media and mobile devices in aiding the recovery. In particular, Katsunobu Sakurai, the mayor of Minami Soma City, plead for help on YouTube. As of April 10, this video has been watched almost 330,000 times. Itsuki Sakitsu works with another college student in developing smart-phone friendly websites so that people can seek help with their smart phones --- in many cases, refugees carried their cell phones with them when they abandoned their homes; a cell-phone friendly website would be very helpful. Thanks to the cell-phone friendly website and a grateful landlord, a mother and a son finally settled down in a temporary home. What other stories did you hear about the important role that social media and/or mobile devices play in aiding people?

Relevant discussions:
The Power of YouTube
Social Media and Japan Earthquake
A Mobile Devices Trend Observed at SBP11

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Is It OK for Hotel Staff to Wear Piercings and Tattoos?

Time has changed. I see more and more college students wearing piercings and tattoos nowadays, but is it OK for hotel staff to wear piercings and tattoos? The answer is “no, no, no.” According a report at USAToday.com, customers across the board do not want to see any hotel workers with pierced eyebrow, pierced tongue, tattooed arm, or nose ring. Some may argue that tattooed and pierced workers may seem more acceptable in edgy boutique hotels as compared to the big franchised hotels, but the survey results did not find any differences among a variety of lodging products. Many respondents believe people who wear visible tattoos and piercings are taking a high risk of their professional lives. If you stay in a hotel, do you mind being served by tattooed and/or pierced staff? What if you are the one who makes the hiring decision? References: USAToday.com: http://tinyurl.com/linchikwok08042010 Picture was downloaded from http://tinyurl.com/linchikwok08042010P

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Linchi Kwok, Ph.D.

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