Current Twitter trends: Haiti aid organizations use Twitter to help raise money

Damage from the earthquake which brought Haiti to its knees (AFP PHOTO/Thony BELIZAIRE)

On the morning of January 14 aid organizations are utilising the power of viral marketing to assist in their pleas for money to help victims of the January 12 earthquake that ravaged through the Caribbean nation of Haiti.

The wide-ranging impact of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook seems more apparent in the face of a natural disaster, when pleas for help in grief-stricken areas can spread across the world in a matter of minutes.

On January 14 the global community of microbloggers could be seen working together to assist a greater cause, driving terms such as "Yele" (Haiti aid organization Yele.org), "Red Cross" and "Help Haiti" into the top of Twitter's most talked about topics.

The name of American Christian "televangelist" Pat Robertson was also trending on January 14 after his "[Haiti] swore a pact to the devil" comment on a January 13 broadcast of The 700 Club.

The top 10 most talked about topics on Twitter on January 14 at 9:30 AM GMT are:

1. #nowplaying (unchanged)
2. #ghettoremedies (new)
3. Yele (unchanged)
4. Red Cross (new)
5. Help Haiti (+5)
6. Pat Robertson (new)
7. #pantsontheground (new)
8. #cricket (new)
9. Goodnight (new)
10. RIP Teddy P (new)