In earthquake-ravaged Nepal, the BBC is using messaging app Viber to share information and safety tips » Nieman Journalism Lab

The BBC now uses WhatsApp primarily as an “incoming audience engagement platform,” Barot said, noting that it’s an effective way for the BBC to get people to contact it and send in information, photos, and video clips. “The difficulty with using it as a push distribution service is that the app is not really designed for that, Barot said. “It’s really labor intensive to use WhatsApp in that way. The Ebola service was very much an exception to the rule for us, where we felt it was so important that we got additional manpower to help us.” Viber says it has more than 360 million global users, and Barot estimates there are up to 4 million Viber users in Nepal. The BBC is planning on running the effort for the next month or so. The Ebola WhatsApp service launched as a six-week project, but the BBC has extended its life. Barot said they’ll evaluate the Nepal project’s status week by week, reconsidering the types of information shared as the situation in Nepal evolves. For the first week, Barot said, the BBC will mostly focus on information about how to stay safe during aftershocks, where relief is being provided, and how people who are missing friends or relatives can attempt to get in touch with them. “We might then start focusing on longer-term issues, on what to do with hundreds of thousands of people who are displaced,” Barot said. “What sort of services or help might they need, or what sort of information would they find most useful? [We’re] making sure we assess that properly and provide that information as well.”