Twitter donates #OneBoston hashtag for Boston blast aid

After Google pitched in with help for the victims of the Boston blast with the People Finder app, it’s time for Twitter to do its bit. On Tuesday, Twitter got into the help mode by floating a donated promoted trend on the site.

The #OneBoston hashtag trending worldwide is down to Twitter’s efforts and the social network is trying to get more help and support for those affected by the bomb attacks during the Boston Marathon on Monday.

This hashtag has been formed to support the newly formed “The One Fund”. The fund was formed by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Tom Menino. The fund aims to “help the people most affected by the tragic events that occurred in Boston on April 15, 2013.”

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On Monday afternoon at around 3 pm local time, two explosions ripped through the site of the Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring many. The bombs were placed close to the finish line of the marathon, causing chaos as they went off.

The hashtag trended all over the world

The hashtag may not seem like a big deal to a lot of people, but there’s a lot that has gone behind Twitter putting it up. The hashtag has helped spread stories, awareness and has been an appeal for assistance to millions of Twitter users the world over for an entire day.

At the D: Dive Conference in New York, Twitter VP of Consumer Product Michael Sippey said that the mentions of the word ‘Boston’ increased by a staggering 20,000 percent. “When events happen in the world, they also happen on Twitter, and that was the case yesterday,” Sippey said.

The #OneBoston hashtag played a huge part in this growth and it is a great move on Twitter’s part. The hashtag’s placement is worth a whopping $200,000 on Twitter. The asking rate for Promoted Trends on Twitter has seen a steady rise since its addition to the website in 2010. The $200,000 price tag is a whopping 150 percent higher than the $80,000 it cost three years ago. Last year, the micro-blogging site demanded a cool $150,000 for Promoted Trends – a 33 percent increase in a year, showing just how important it could be in such situations.

Twitter was used as a tool by the Boston Police right after the blasts too. They tweeted out requests for videos of the finish line around the time the blasts took place. It does look like the social media is lending a big hand in not just helping the affected but also aiding police investigations.

Google too played its part by activating the Person Finder tool to help aid finding affected Boston Marathoners. The tool was first activated during the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

When you log into the page, you will be shown two options. The first says “I’m looking for someone” and will help you find out if there is any information about a loved one you are searching for. If there is any positive information about the person you are searching for, a message that says “Status: Someone has received information that this person is alive” will be shown on screen. You can then click to see where the information came from.

The second button reads, “I have information about someone”. This tool is for people who have the whereabouts of people affected by the blast. Entering information using this button will help people who’re searching for their loved ones co-ordinate information.

It also includes a link to Red Cross Safe and Well set up by the Red Cross Society where you can register yourself as “Safe and Well” or search for registrants. More resources also include a Google Doc for marathoners stranded in the city thanks to flight cancellations. This Google Doc aims to match people who need a place to stay with those who are willing to offer their homes to guests.