Crisis Communication 2.0: Social Media in Emergency Preparedness and Response

CRISIS COMMUNICATION 2.0

Social Media In Emergency Preparedness & Response

NH Emergency Preparedness ConferenceJune 16, 2011

Alyson Cobb & Arielle SlamJSI Research & Training Institute, Inc.

OBJECTIVES Learn about social media and current trends. Learn about prominent tools through case

studies of social media being used to engage the public during a disaster.

Understand the benefits and barriers of social media.

CRISIS & EMERGENCY RISK COMMUNICATION

The strategy used to provide information to individuals, stakeholders, or an entire community that will help them make the best possible decisions during a crisis

Includes all forms of communication, including social media

SOCIAL MEDIA

“Social media are the electronic tools, technologies, and applications that facilitate interactive communication and content exchange.”

SOCIAL MEDIA REVOLUTION

POPULAR SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS Social networking sites Blogs Microblogs Gadgets

Buttons & Badges Widgets Apps

Multimedia sharing sites Geotagging Virtual worlds Wikis Text messaging RSS Feeds Social bookmarking

SOCIAL NETWORKING SITESOnline communities where you can find

people, connect, and share information.100 Million profiles80% active users1 million new users a week595,580 NH residents (44.5% of NH)43% of people in the US

LINKEDIN

FACEBOOK

EXPLORING FACEBOOK

DO YOU FACEBOOK?

FACEBOOK PAGES

Wall Info Photos

Apps Like Button

CHARACTERISTICS OF A FACEBOOK PAGE

THE POWER OF LIKE

VIRGINIA TECH SHOOTING

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES

Benefits

Drawbacks

Rapid message dissemination

Accessible when traditional media and resources were not

Provided reassurance to friends and family

crowdsourcing

Could spread misinformation Collective error

correction & verification

Casualties made public before families knew

LIABILITY CONCERNS GSA Office of Citizen Services

Developed amended Terms of Service agreements to reflect needs of federal users.

National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) Establishing terms of service for state and

local agencies

LIABILITY CONCERNS Include disclaimers

Comments policy “CDC does not agree with or

endorse every comment that individuals post on our pages…Therefore, a comment will be deleted if it contains..”

Note if you are not monitoring 24/7

Updated frequently Genre, professional, personal Most recent entry first Two way conversation Easier to update than a

website Address special audiences

Functional needs Special languages

156 M blogsBLOGS

SOUTH CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES

CHARACTERISTICS OF BLOGSBenefits

Drawbacks Address special

audiences Functional needs Special languages

Localized information No web development

skills needed Fast

Many competing blogs Not always credible

source

MICROBLOGS: TWITTER

Username Hashtag Tweet/Retweet Followers/Following

Info location

Similar to traditional blogs, except that content length is limited

2011 WESTERN MA TORNADO

Buttons and badgesWidgets

Apps

GADGETS

BUTTONS AND BADGES Graphically links that

share information about campaigns and causes online

<!-- BUTTON EMBED CODE STARTS HERE --><a href="http://emergency.cdc.gov/socialmedia/zombies_blog.asp?s_cid=emergency_002" title="Get A Kit, Make A Plan, Be Prepared. emergency.cdc.gov"><img src="http://www.cdc.gov/images/campaigns/emergency/zombies1_300x250.jpg" style="width:300px; height:250px; border:0px;" alt="Get A Kit, Make A Plan, Be Prepared. emergency.cdc.gov" /></a><!-- BUTTON EMBED CODE ENDS HERE -->

WIDGETS

APPS

CHARACTERISTICS OF GADGETS

Easier functionality than internet on phones

Apps can reach traditional non-internet users

Facilitates unified message sharing

Can encourage viral message dissemination

Can be used to gather information from the ground

Added value to audience Entertaining Visually appealing

Apps limited to those with smart phones

Apps require a developer to build

Apps & badges short life span

Benefits

Drawbacks

MEDIA SHARING SITES Websites for users to view, share,

and comment on multimedia• 3 billion views per day• = every US resident watching

at least 9 videos each day• 48 hrs of video uploaded every

minuteAn average flickr user has:253 contacts1620 photos529 views a day7 uploads a day

YOUTUBE CHANNELS

CHARACTERISTICS OF MEDIA SHARING

Public prefers visual information

Can use and share existing media

Can easily make existing media available to your audience

Time to produce videos

Benefits

Drawbacks

Location-based platforms Typically on mobile phones & smart phones

Organizes and presents information specific to your geographic location Nearby places & resources People nearby

GEOTAGGING

GOOGLE MY MAPS & BING MAPS

SOCIAL MEDIA CHECK-INSEx. Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare

HTTP://USHAHIDI.COM/

SUMMARY Many benefits to social media

Fast, wide, decentralized It may feel overwhelming, but its

doable If not on social media, start exploring

as personal user.

Arielle SlamJSI Research & Training Instituteaslam@jsi.com603.573.3341

THANK YOU!

Alyson CobbJSI Research & Training Instituteacobb@jsi.com603.573.3319

Terdiman, Daniel. Study: Wikipedia as Accurate as Brittanica (2005) http://news.cnet.com/Study-Wikipedia-as-accurate-as-Britannica/2100-1038_3-5997332.html

Tinker, Timothy, et al. Expert Round Table on Social Media and Risk Communication During Times of Crisis: Strategic Challenges and Opportunities. (2009) http://www.socialmediaandtechnology.com/

Krimsky, Sheldon. Risk communication in the internet age: The rise of disorganized skepticism. (2007) Environmental Hazards. http://www.elsevier.com/locate/hazards

Sutton, Jeannette, et al. Backchannels on the Front Lines: Emergent Uses of Social Media in the 2007 Southern California Wildfires. (2008) Proceedings of the 5th International ISCRAM Conference

Guion, Deirdre, et al. Weathering the Storm: A Social Marketing Perspective on Disaster Preparedness and Response with Lessons from Hurricane Katrina. (2007) American Marketing Association, Vol.26 (1).

Palmer, Jason. Emergency 2.0 is coming to a website near you: the web spells a sea of change for crisis management. How should emergency services respond? (2008) New Scientist 198.2654 http://www.newscientist.com.ezpr.oxy.lib.umb.edu

New tools a boon: Public health leaders using social media to convey emergencies. (2009) The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association www.thenationshealth.org

Underwood, Sarah. Improving Disaster Management. (2010) communications of the Acm. Vol.53. no.2 DOI: 10.1145/1646353.1646362

Palen, Leysia. The Emergence of Online Widescale Interaction in Unexpected Events: Assistance, Alliance & Retreat (2008) CSCW, University of Colorado, Boulder

A National Survey of Social Media Use in State Government: Friends, Followers, and Feeds.NASCIO (2010): http://www.nascio.org/publications/documents/NASCIO-SocialMedia.pdf

References