This week, Facebook was part of a conference call arranged by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff with major Internet companies. The unfortunate approach of Hurricane Gustav meant that nearly two million people living on the Gulf Coast had to evacuate their homes. Everyone on the call pledged our support and to do what we could to help. For Facebook, that meant posting a home page message for users in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi, pointing them to the FEMA website for updates, and encouraging them to let their friends and family know they're safe by updating their Facebook status. In addition, the Causes application, which has more than 2.7 million active users who have supported various causes, has targeted Gustav relief efforts. We encourage you to get involved yourself on Causes.

However, even before we got on the phone, thousands of users were already organizing themselves via Facebook. We've seen dozens of new groups with focuses ranging from people offering prayers of support to physical relief efforts, and that's where the real power of Facebook lies, in its users.


Chris Kelly is hoping everyone is safe.