One of the missing - Image copyright 2005 Olivier Blanchard

People looking for missing friends and family members in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's devastation have turned to Craigslist.com to post their messages. How cool is that? One of the internet's top wanted-ad sites gets retasked to help thousands of displaced hurricane victims reconnect with their loved ones... not by the government, not by a relief agency, but by people.

Internet tracker technocrati.com hooked up with flikr and buzznet to let amateur photographers and camera phone users share their images of the chaos with the rest of us (though very few actual photos of the hurricane's aftermath are being posted yet).

Thousands of private and public sites have joined in the relief effort in some form or another. From office space offers and housing relief to general relief organization info, the web is turning out to be a fantastic tool for anyone not only looking for information but help and relief. In addition, a database of victims and other sites is being created here.

Too bad the craigslist postings couldn't be hooked up to the Superdome's jumbotron or printed and posted outside its gates... but it's a start. A very good start.