Distributed Social Networking has immense potential as a disaster preparedness tool.  Particularly so if wireless mesh networks are part of our emergency communications systems - and if we assume that any likely emergency system in the United States will be, in most places, community-based rather than government-based. (There are, no question, some state and local governments which have effective systems in place. But FEMA: res ipsa loquitur). In that context we mention DiSo - a distributed social networking project which I found on Chris Messina's site.

We think the formula - large network + actual local preparedness + redundant, resilient comms systems = equals network able to prepare, lobby, allocate resources and respond as needed. And, inevitably, build community en route.