We’re members of Google’s Crisis response team, a group of engineers and product managers that recently responded to Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan. AMA!

How many people are involved in the Crisis Response team?

The size goes up and down, depending on whether we have an active response going on. We do have a dedicated group of engineer and product leads, but we grow when we’re responding - we often bring in Googlers in an affected region and other team members who can help when we need more hands on deck.

Have the NSA revelations affected your work at all?

(Hopefully not! But you never know how affected countries will react...)

We haven't seen any impact on our response efforts. We take our users' privacy really seriously, including on products like Person Finder (here's some info on what we do on privacy for that product: https://support.google.com/personfinder/?hl=en#1628148)

How many people are working on the team and how often do fake requests get posted ?

How do you deal with it ?

We don't have a set number, since the team grows when we are working on a response. What did you mean by fake requests? We don't really have a forum where we'd have to address fake requests if I understand your q correctly.

I don't want to sound like an asshole but isn't it illegal for a corporation to do something like this? It was my understanding that corporations were only allowed to do things to make money, to bring stock holders value.

It's certainly not illegal. A lot of companies have programs to help give away money or product or even encourage volunteering amongst employees. In our case, we're using our tech and engineers to build something that helps get people the critical information then need during a crisis. There are other teams at Google that have social impact-focused missions (like Google.org or Google Ideas)

What encourage you to work particularly in this sphere?

People turn to the tools they use everyday to get information when they need it, and more and more, that means going online. We think we have a responsibility to users to provide them the info they need, when they need it, through tools like Search and Maps.

Somewhat forward looking, but I'll try my luck: the Crisis Desktop web products feel a little on the "old" side visually, any plans to bring them up to date with the latest Google-wide design language (i.e. Cards etc)? Or is it a deliberate choice for usability/speed/data usage etc?

Great question. We're actually in the process of doing a UI refresh across our products to be more "mobile-first" (shout out to Nadav, our UI superhero), in response to non-desktop traffic from past responses exceeding 50% -- a number that will only get bigger over time. To address the needs of these mobile-affected users, we launched a cards-based "landing page" late last year, and recently launched a major phone-friendly redesign of Crisis Map. We'd love getting specific product feedback (esp. on UI side), so message me or tweet us if you have suggestions :)

Is Google's ultimate aim to be at the Earth's technological forefront?

Our company mission is still about taking the world's information and making it universally accessible and useful. Larry (Page) has talked a lot about going beyond incremental change and thinking big re: technology, and it's certainly something we aspire to do.

Hi my question is can you get me a job at google?

Your best bet is to check google.com/about/jobs, sadly, no magic powers to get you through the interview process :)

Are there any internal crises that you are charged with assisting?

Totally related, and since they have already revealed the truth, when did you know the purpose of the barge, and how successful do you think it will all be?

Internal crises...can you give an example of what you mean? We definitely have googlers in affected areas jump in when we respond to a disaster.

As for the barge, wouldn't it be nice if it was full of disaster supplies? It's not really related to our day-to-day so we heard details around the same time as everyone else.

Hi Pete. I am one of the crisis mappers back when the Visayas earthquake and Yolanda happened here in the Philippines. I would like to ask what your process is for hiring if there are openings in your team? I enjoy crisis response.

Hi, thanks for your help during the Yolanda event. We post all of our formal job opportunities at www.google.com/about/jobs. For more informal collaboration, we try to use crisis mappers mailing list (crisismappers.net) to announce products and responses, and potentially, opportunities for the community to get engaged. We've also recently set up a twitter account (@googlecr) and G+ Crisis Response page to keep folks up-to-date as well.

What is the best way for an individual to get involved in google crisis? thanks

Check out our response above, does that help?

Has your group ever considered engineering mobile internet pods that could be rapidly moved into a stricken area and provide lots of temporary bandwidth?

It's from another part of Google, but Project Loon could one day help provide connectivity in situations like this. We hope that happens.

How is the Crisis Response team structured? Is there one global team? Or there individual teams in specific countries/regions?

How is the Crisis Response team structured? Is there one global team? Or there individual teams in specific countries/regions?

We have a core team of engineers and product leads, but we expand in team size when we are working on a significant response: Googlers in affected areas jump in, as well as others who want volunteer their time. A lot of the core team is in the US, but we also have a group focused on crisis response in countries such as Japan.