Last week, OSINT HK, a group of developers and amateur intelligence analysts typically focused on the Hong Kong protests, launched Shortage Tracker, a crowdsourced online map to fight coronavirus panic buying. The open-source tool tracks supplies of hygiene and food products in Hong Kong that have been in shortage due to the outbreak. It allows people to report where relevant goods are available and also alert each other to inflated prices. The project is still in beta, but the creators hope to make it available globally to help people find what they need during emergencies.
🙏 FACTUAL HEALING.
Only 6% of China was online when SARS hit in 2003. Now, the number has increased tenfold to more than 60%. Media sensationalism and misinformation online creates a pandemic of fear that spreads faster than the virus itself. This leads to panic buying in affected areas, like Hong Kong. When social media is full of viral content showing long lines and empty shelves in supermarkets, alongside endless updates of increasing cases, it’s only human to ignore the pleas of experts and instead scramble for supplies. Shortage Tracker hopes to counter people’s fear-based actions (not easy!) by serving their deep needs for safety, assurance and peace of mind. In this new decade, digital disinformation poses an endless challenge and opportunity. How can you provide consumers with new tools to sort facts from lies?
👥CROWD-EXPRESS.
Shortage Tracker not only provides consumers with real time information but also allows them to take part in the reporting, tapping into the human need to connect with others and make a difference. It rallies people together and prompts users to think of others in times of crisis. Easier said than done! This shows the lasting power of crowdsourcing, which continues to deliver value, whether for disaster relief, community building, product improvements or cost reduction. Premium clients can access this trend (CROWD EXPRESS) in our database, where it is bursting with innovations to learn from. How will you tap into the collective intelligence of the crowd?
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