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News, images, and aid information about
the Haitian earthquake have spread rapidly
on social-networking sites like Facebook.
Screen capture: Facebook

Compelling digital images and video have been pouring out of Haiti after the massive earthquake Tuesday, which has caused widespread destruction. Many of the usual media sources—newspapers, magazines, news television, and their respective Web sites—have been packed with pictures. Here are some of the many photo essays covering this horrific story. (The following links contains some graphic material that may be disturbing to some readers.):

• The New York Times, which was taken by their own photographers.
• National Public Radio (which posted shots taken by Associated Press and Getty Images photographers).
• The Washington Post—here and here.

As you might expect, these images are taken by seasoned, pro photojournalists.

But new technologies have allowed amateur or even non-photographers to distribute photos to the public. In fact, by most media accounts, the first photos of the Haitian earthquake did not appear on newspapers, magazines, TV, or even websites or blogs, but rather on social networking sites such as Facebook and on Twitter.

Here's why social networks have become so important in the wake of this disaster:

• It's very simple to set up a social network account and post photos. For events like the Haiti earthquake, it was also perhaps one of the few ways to get the word out because there was so much damage to the local infrastructure. And on social networks, news travels virtually instantaneously and virally.
• They let people communicate directly with affected friends and loved ones. (In a similar way, Iranians got the word out this past summer about Iranian government violence during protests, when traditional media were censored.)

Social networks are also helping raise money for earthquake victims. Donations can be made via Twitter or by texting from a cell phone. According to Time magazine, "a message sent from the Twitter account of Haitian-born musician Wyclef Jean went out to the singer's nearly 1.4 million followers and kicked off what has quickly become the largest text-based fundraising campaign for disaster relief in history." Some estimate that campaign has raised at least $800,000.

Before contributing to the relief effort via one of these methods, though, make sure you're donating to a legitimate organization. For more on this, check out our Money blog.

—Terry Sullivan

Combing through hundreds of blog posts and news articles daily, Dirk Klingner, our technology-trend watcher, sifts through the noise to bring you the tech news most important to consumers. If you have a tip on a story you want to share, leave a comment below.

Are You Ready to Tweet Credit and Debit Card Purchases? (Wall Street Journal)

…Blippy users hook their credit or debit card accounts, which are then sent to followers, much like tweets. It’s opt in, so users can either link individual cards, or just purchases from specific merchants like iTunes or Amazon. Blippers can also choose whether they want the total dollar amount or details of the purchase shown.

How to Tether Your Android Phone (Smarterware)

There are three ways to tether your Android handset and get sweet internet love even where there's no Wi-Fi in sight: the risky-but-free method that requires serious technical skills, the still-geeky-but-not-as-bad free route, and the $30 easy way. Let's take a look at the pros and cons of each.

Quix – A Command-Line Like Bookmarklet for your Browser (Digital Inspiration)

…Your bookmarklet collection is growing everyday but if you are looking to trim it down, try Quix. It is a powerful bookmarklet that combines the functions of multiple bookmarklets into one and works just like the command-line in Unix – you hit the bookmarklet button and it will open a dialog box where you can type a command.

Old Billboards in Google Street View to Get Virtual Updates (Fast Company)

…Which is where advertising king Google steps in with the new plan. It's going to devise a code bot that will automatically recognize physical adverts in Street View imagery, and then there will be a system that lets Google re-sell the same advertising space digitally so that more up to date info is presented to Street View visitors.

Sunlight Brings Congress to Your iPhone (ReadWriteWeb)

The nonprofit Sunlight Foundation announced today the availability of its Real Time Congress iPhone app. The app displays an up-to-the-minute feed of updates from the House and Senate floors, Whip notices, hearings scheduled and key government documents as they are released.

Dog's Instincts Send Her Bolting Before Quake (NBC Bay Area)

…Cameras captured the quake but one particular piece of footage is getting a lot of attention. Scroll down and check out the clip from a security camera at the the Times Standard in Eureka. It shows a dog named Sophie who appears to feel the earthquake before it hits.

Lighter Side: Stop Motion - Super Mario 3 (CollegeHumor)

…300 frames, 36 hours of work using nothing but paper, colored pencils, glue and cardboard, all to create a game I would have just let him borrow.