Facebook aims to help prevent suicide

binjaitech--Help is just a few clicks away on Facebook for people expressing suicidal thoughts.

The social networking site launched a new feature Tuesday that enables users to connect with a counselor through a confidential chat session triggered after a friend reports distressing content.

The new tool has several benefits, experts say, in the quest to reduce the number of nearly 100 Americans who commit suicide every day.

First, it brings quick intervention at times when it can be of most help. Second, it enables troubled people to start a chat over an instant messaging system that many find more comfortable than speaking on the phone with a counselor.

“We’ve heard from many people who say they want to talk to someone but don’t want to call. Instant message is perfect for that,” said Lidia Bernik, associate project director of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

The service is the latest tool from Facebook aimed at improving safety on its site, which has more than 800 million users. This year, it announced changes to how users report bullying, offensive content and fake profiles.

“One of the big goals here is to get the person in distress into the right help as soon as possible,” said Fred Wolens, Facebook’s public policy manager.

In recent years, distressed people have posted their final words on Facebook.

In one high-profile case in September 2010, Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge after his roommate allegedly used a webcam to spy on his intimate encounter with another man.

Clementi had posted on his Facebook account: “Jumping off the gw bridge sorry.”

Last month, authorities in Pittsburg, Calif., said a man posted a suicide note on Facebook before he killed his wife and in-laws, then himself.

In July, police in Pennsylvania said they believed they were able to help prevent a man’s suicide after his friend in California alerted police about a distraught Facebook posting. Police met with the man, who was admitted to a hospital.

Google">Google and Yahoo have long provided Lifeline’s phone number as the first result when someone searches for “suicide.” Through email, Facebook directed users to the hotline or encouraged friends to call police if they perceived someone was about to do harm.

The new service goes a step further. Here’s how it works:

A user spots a suicidal comment on a friend’s page. He then clicks on a “report” button next to the posting that leads to a series of questions about the nature of the post, including whether it is violent, harassing, hate speech or harmful behavior.

If harmful behavior is clicked, then self-harm, Facebook’s user safety team reviews it and sends it to Lifeline. Once the comment is determined to be legitimate, Facebook sends an email to the user who originally posted the thoughts perceived as suicidal. The email includes Lifeline’s phone number and a link to start a confidential chat session.

The recipient decides whether to respond. Facebook also sends an email to the person who reported the content to let the person know that the site responded. If a suicide or other threats appear imminent, Facebook encourages friends to call law enforcement.

The vetting process guards against any misuse and harassment and keeps the experience within the user’s control, Wolens said.

Facebook, however, has not created any software that searches the site for suicidal expressions. It would be far too difficult with so many users and so many comments that could be misinterpreted by a computer algorithm, Wolens said.

“The only people who will have a really good idea of what’s going on is your friends. So we’re encouraging them to speak up and giving them an easy and quick way to get help,” he said.

The Lifeline currently responds to dozens of users on Facebook each day. Crisis center workers will be available 24 hours a day to respond to users selecting the chat option. taiwannews

Google joins fight against slavery with $11.5 million grant

binjaitech--Google Inc. announced Wednesday that it's providing $11.5 million in grants to 10 organizations working to end modern-day slavery and human trafficking.

Gary Haugen, president and CEO of International Justice Mission, one of the grant recipients, called the move a "game-changing investment." IJM is a Washington-based human rights agency that works to rescue victims of slavery and sexual exploitation in about a dozen countries.

"This is the largest corporate step up to the challenge that is beginning to apply direct resources to the fight against slavery," Haugen said.

According to estimates by grant recipients, Google's support will free an estimated 12,000 people from slavery and prevent millions more from being victimized. Numbers vary widely, but policymakers, activists and scholars estimate the number of modern-day slaves at somewhere between 10 million and 30 million people worldwide.

Google's director of charitable giving, Jacquelline Fuller, said the company chose to spotlight the issue of slavery because the topic of freedom -- "the most basic of human rights," as she puts it -- resonated with company employees around the world.

"Many people are surprised to learn there are more people trapped in slavery today than any time in history," Fuller said. "The good news is that there are solutions. Google is supporting organizations that have a proven track record and a plan to make a difference at scale."

Google made the announcement through a link posted on its web page. The gift is part of a total of $40 million the Internet giant is giving in charitable donations during the holiday season.

The grant will be shared by newly formed coalitions of international anti-trafficking organizations. The bulk of the donation, $8 million, will go to two coalitions led by IJM in India, with about half going toward direct intervention and government-led rescue operations, and half toward advocacy and awareness projects. In addition, $1.8 million will go to the U.S. Anti-Trafficking Initiative -- a partnership between Polaris Project, which operates the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline, Slavery Footprint, an interactive Web site and mobile app that estimates how much of a user's lifestyle relies on forced labor, and IJM.

IJM says most of its funding comes from private donations. In 2010, it notes, less than 1% of its funding came from major corporations or corporate foundations.

"It gives us a sense of what's possible," said IJM's Haugen. "We can actually change the whole balance of resources between those who are the criminals, hurting human beings and those who are on the side of those who need freedom today."

CNN has also joined the fight against modern-day slavery and collaborates regularly with many advocacy groups, including the recipients of these Google grants. Since launching the CNN Freedom Project in March, CNN has broadcast more than 200 stories and a half-dozen documentaries on the issue of human trafficking and modern-day slavery. Nearly 2,000 people have come out of slavery, either directly or indirectly, as a result of those stories. cnn

AOL TV gets HuffPost makeover

binjaitech--The retooled site, huffingtonpost.com/tv, launched Wednesday morning as part of editorial boss Arianna Huffington's ongoing makeover of AOL's editorial properties.

Following the model established at The Huffington Post, it will feature prominent bloggers such as Aaron Sorkin, Norman Lear, Bill Maher and Dr. Phil McGraw.

"It's going to be a sophisticated, bordering on obsessive take on the most buzzworthy shows," Michael Hogan, executive entertainment editor at Huffington Post Media Group, told TheWrap. "But I also think we're going to be looking for ways to connect what's happening on TV to the broader culture."

Hogan said that Jaimie Etkin, former associate culture editor for Newsweek and The Daily Beast, has been hired to serve as editor. AOL TV's five staffers will move to the new site.

Hogan said that HuffPost TV will retain the television listings and show pages from AOL TV -- but will have a different color. Moreover, its tone will better reflect the Huffington Post's.

"People really love to talk about TV, and they know that the Huffington Post is a place to have conversations online, so to me it's like the internet and TV were kind of made for each other," Hogan said.

"One of the primary objectives here is not just to kind of hear ourselves speak and pat ourselves on the back, but to really engage with an audience that we know is there," he said. "They're already there reading The Huffington Post and commenting on The Huffington Post, but also, we know there are all these communities around all these shows, so we want to provide the best possible venue for people to talk about the shows."

He said that people want to talk about the shows they've just watched -- and that HuffPost TV will give them a place to do that.

AOL acquired The Huffington Post for $315 million this past February. When it did, it installed Arianna Huffington as president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group, which includes AOL properties. reuters