Thoughts On How NY Tech Can Best Respond - #SandyVolunteer #SandyCoWorking #NYTechResponds

A couple thoughts on how NY Tech can respond to Sandy. Four points

1. Make the response about all 5 boros, not just downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn. Some of the hardest hit areas are parts of NYC such as Breezy Point, Queens. It'll be important we develop responses that consider all of New York City. We should also consider how we can help greater NYC, especially hard hit areas in NJ.
2. Focus on what we do best (tech), but also focus on immediate, concrete, hands-on needs. We should marshall all of our tech power expertise to creatively solve difficult problems. We should also, though, be visible and active in doing direct actions such as donating blood.
3. Coordinate across a wide swatch of organizations, large and small, and regardless of political bent. This is the time for everyone to work together. This is also a great opportunity to demonstrate the power of the open internet.
4. Build solutions to long term problems and durable platforms. Right now is triage -- immediate human services as well as short-term technical problems such as connectivity and basic power. Soon though, focus should shift to creating durable platforms and applications to solve long-term problems. Some of these that jump to mind include
• Damage / flood Surveys
• Insurance and federal assistance Claims
• Small business support (helping businesses get back on-line - restoring connectivity, getting DBs back-up, etc.)
• School and municipality support (similar to small business)