Phil Wolff

Skyping KatrinaHelp

September 2, 2005 09:30 AM

Topics: Life | North America | Skype Journal People | community | events

I just got off of a call with Angelo (awake for 90 hours in Bahrain), Dina Mehta (from Mumbai and of Skype Journal), and Anna Lisa (Amsterdam) about setting up the KatrinaHelp Team's phone service. They are working with the Saturn ham radio operators to queue and relay calls for help from around Tulane. So they're setting up a local SkypeIn number and buying some SkypeOut time, about 20 euro for now. The volunteers, many of whom are alumni of Tsunami relief efforts, will follow the sun, handing off the account as they change shifts.

Two unresolved problems so far.

SMS. They need to receive and send SMS. Text will often get through to a mobile phone where voice calls fail. And these are life and death calls for help. The volume is low, fifty to a few hundred messages a day for the next few weeks. If you can help, Skype me (evanwolf) or Skype KatrinaHelp.

Payment. The other problem is that Skype still binds each account to just one payment option, typically a credit card. So the same person who pays for this account now is responsible for topping up the account for the life of the project. This could end up being a lot of money for one person. Right now we're assuming sponsors could reimburse our volunteer, but it would be better if others could buy SkypeOut minutes and transfer them to KatrinaHelp.

This is just one project. Grassroots. Independent. More to come.

UPDATE: See the KatrinaHelp home page if you want to join in.

UPDATE: Thanks to Jaanus Kaase, the official Share Skype blogger, for SkypeOut vouchers. Nice job, Jaanus. Blog on.

UPDATE: The volunteers:

  • updated their Skype installs to the latest non-beta version,
  • completed their purchase of SkypeIn and SkypeOut,
  • set HotKeys so they can answer calls quickly,
  • recorded voice mail messages,
  • worked out that they couldn't have two people logged in with the same Skype name at the same time, and used SkypeOut to call the Tulane number. It worked!
The local phone system is swamped. Calls to the number sometimes produce "Due to the hurricane in the area you are calling, your call cannot be completed at this time. Please try your call again later." In the nicest voice. Callers will have to persist.

UPDATE: Jaanus Kaase: "We have eased the payment limits on KatrinaHelp account so you should have no issues making further payments."

UPDATE: Connectotel's Marcus Williamson is setting up a Skype-to-SMS bridge for KatrinaHelp.




Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.skypejournal.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1507

Posts linking to Skyping KatrinaHelp:

» Calling Katrina from Curiouser and curiouser!
Phil has a practical suggestion at Skype Journal for how to help Katrina victims. [Read More]

Tracked on September 2, 2005 3:16 AM

» KatrinaHelp Developments from Conversations with Dina
The KatrinaHelp team is really doing some good work on building a resource for news, aid and relief for those affected by Hurricane Katrina. [Read More]

Tracked on September 2, 2005 11:45 AM

Comments

Posted by: Jaanus Kase at September 2, 2005 5:07 AM

we have eased the payment limits on KatrinaHelp account so you should have no issues making further payments.

Posted by: dina mehta at September 2, 2005 5:54 AM

Thanks Jaanus, thanks Skype. This is great. And thank you Phil for so succinctly stating what we need amidst the chaos.

Posted by: Marjolein Hoekstra [TypeKey Profile Page] at September 2, 2005 2:31 PM

Hi,
I just wrote a request to Clickatell (operators of a well-known bulk SMS gateway, located in South Africa) for help.

I hope this helps.

Marjolein

Post a comment




Remember Me?

(you may use HTML tags for style)





Other Recent Posts

Skype 3.0 Folder Pollution in Life | Products | Skype杂志 | complaints | design | ebay | skype | skypejournal | voip | wishlist on 11/22/06

Skype 3.0 Beta for Windows; bugfix build 137 in General Notices | News | Products | Skype News | Skype杂志 | ebay | skype | skypejournal | voip on 11/22/06

Skype PR Wake Up Call III: The Commentary in Business | Every Post | Ideas & Views | Marketing | Skype News | Skype杂志 | Strategy | ebay | observations | skype | skypejournal | voip on 11/22/06

Wednesday morning scan in Business | Life | Marketing | News | Products | Skype Partner Watch | Skype杂志 | Strategy | Technology | Tips & Tricks | Yahoo | counterpoints | design | ebay | freedom | observations | regulation | skype | skypejournal | voip on 11/22/06

Yes, TalkPlus reverse engineered Skype. in Developers | North America | Skype Partner Watch | Skype杂志 | Strategy | Technology | ebay | skype | skypejournal | voip on 11/21/06

Email to a friend