Disasters and Social Media
In my July newsletter I briefly discussed the Ushahidi Program as an example of the growing use of social media in disasters using. On August 9, the Red Cross released a survey showing just how important social media is becoming. The results are striking:
- 69% of respondents believed emergency responders should be monitoring social media
- 74% expected a response in less than an hour after a tweet or Facebook posting
- 20% would contact responders through digital means if 911 was not answering
If respondents knew of someone in trouble, they would also turn to social media.
- 44% would ask social media contacts to notify authorities
- 35% would post a request for help on an agency's Facebook page
- 28% would send a direct Twitter message to responders
Another finding that isof interest to emergency managers is that more web users say they get emergency information from Facebook than from NOAA weather radio.
I believe it no no longer matters whether emergency managers choose to take social media seriously. We really have no choice. Our profession is driven, to a large extent, by public expectation. In this case, that expectation is clear – the traditional methods by which we communicate with the public are no longer sufficient.
I think one of the reasons people get their information from social media instead of NOAA radio is because how many people really have those radios? Virtually everyone is one some variation of social media.
I know I’ve seen early reports (and sometimes the only reports) of earthquakes in CA on Facebook and Twitter. I learned about the Toronto earthquake via Twitter as it was hitting.
When the power went out here, I was on Facebook getting updates from a cousin across town. I’m not sure if it ever hit the local or regional news here.
I’m not sure I would use social media to get help but that probably has more to do with where I am than anything. I think it would definitely benefit first responders and emergency services to have someone who to fluent in social media.
Makes me wonder a little how events of September 11th might have been different if social media had present then.
Your point is well taken. We’ve distributed a lot of radio over the past few years but they are definitely not as popular as Facebook. By the way, the difference is only about 1% between the radio and Facebook but it jumps by about 36% when you consider online news sources. TV and radio still lead 63% and 44% respectively but the gap is narrowing. I think the real issue is that the Internet is becoming the way a lot of people get the news. Social media really does need to be factored into a crisis communications plan.
I hope the lack of local media is also a consideration in most of these plans. I haven’t listened to a local radio station since I left Boston in the early 90s. There are maybe 2 or 3 local radio stations right here in town. Oddly enough the AM station is so weak I can barely pick it up across town. The other 2 are formats I don’t listen to, one of those stations I couldn’t find on the dial if I had to.
As for tv news, I stand a better chance of hearing local to me news on the Erie, PA stations rather than the Buffalo stations.
Here’s a question. Are there online applications that work like NOAA weather radios? I wouldn’t think twice about adding something like that to my phone.