As social media develops, thankfully so does its application. Cue the next generation of Twitter - harnessing the platform’s speed and agility to connect aid workers and victims of disasters with life-saving resources and vital information.

At this year’s Public Relation Society of America International Conference Bettina Luescher, spokesperson for the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP), highlighted Twitter’s big impact on relief work, saying “Not only do we reach out to the media and the public, we use it [Twitter] inside the aid community.” Social media played a large role in WFP’s emergency response to Haiti after a devastating earthquake struck the country in January. The WFP tweeted maps highlighting food distribution areas areas to assist in feeding survivors in the days and weeks following the category 7 quake.

Even more compelling the WFP’s logistics team used its official twitter stream to communicate on everything from the state of the roads to airplane availability for shipping supplies. As workers got onto the ground, the account updated truck drivers on problems getting food across the Dominican border at Jimani and Dajabon. A February 20th tweet raised a digital-flag, asking if any workers had an “update for the situation at Elias Pina border crossing” during an effort to get food into the country.

An outbreak of cholera in the western region of Haiti last month is being monitored and managed through @kwawouj, an account in Haitian Creole set up by the Red Cross. The aid-organization tweets updates directing locals to resources in the area while also teaming up with a Haitian SMS provider to send information directly to over over 1,000 mobile devices. Cutting down the time it takes to respond in a disaster and providing a constant stream of information to victims means less lives lost making Twitter a potentially powerful tool in the arsenal of both distant and remote aid-workers.

There’s also a benefit to followers outside of the crisis. The WFP logistics and the Red Cross accounts are public allowing engagement on a new level. Not only can subscribers get updates on blog posts and see pictures of the action, they are also let inside the intricate process of getting help to the world’s neediest, in a way, seeing where their donations are working real time. This kind of internal storytelling is a technique useful across organizations and movements. No longer just readers of a140-character recap of an event, followers can feel a part of the efforts, possibly becoming more invested in communicated goals.

It’s exciting to see organization’s re-evaluate their relationship with social media and push its abilities to new levels. One day we may be able to say that a tweet fed a hungry refugee – now that’s progress.