This document discusses the use of social media in emergency preparedness and response. It provides an overview of prominent social media tools and case studies of how different organizations have used social media during disasters. The benefits of social media include rapid information dissemination, accessibility when other systems are down, and addressing special audiences. However, social media can also spread misinformation. The document concludes by recommending that organizations start using social media by creating personal accounts to learn how the tools work before creating official presence.

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Social Media In Emergency Preparedness & Response
Presented 11.17.11 To MRC Region I & II Summit
Arielle Slam & Alyson Cobb
 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.
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“Social media are the electronic
tools, technologies, and
applications that facilitate
interactive communication and
content exchange.”
http://youtu.be/3SuNx0UrnEo
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 Social networking sites
 Blogs
 Microblogs
 Gadgets
 Buttons & Badges
 Widgets
 Apps
 Multimedia sharing sites
 Geotagging
 Virtual worlds
 Wikis
 Text messaging
 RSS Feeds
 Social bookmarking
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Wall Info Photos
Like Button
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Benefits Drawbacks
 Rapid message  Could spread
dissemination misinformation
 Accessible when  Collective error
traditional media and correction & verification
resources were not  Casualties made public
before families knew
 Provided reassurance
to friends and family
 Crowdsourcing
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 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
60% of bloggers note they are blogging more than
when they started because it has proven to be of value
to their profession. State of Blogosphere 2011
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“The only way we all have to get
good information here is for
those who have it to share it. We
relied on others to give us
updates when they had info and
we do the same for others.”
–San Diego Resident
“Most of the news media…are
utterly clueless about anything in
rural areas. They constantly gave
out bogus information, like
locations and directions that
made no sense at all.”
- rural area resident
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Benefits Drawbacks
 Address special  Many competing blogs
audiences
 Time intensive
 Functional needs
 Special languages
 Localized information
 No web development
skills needed
 Fast
 Seen as most reliable
source of new media
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 Similar to traditional blogs, except that
content length is limited
 Username  Info
 Hashtag  location
 Tweet/Retweet
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“There’s some evidence that as landlines and power supplies went down…people
still used their mobile phones to stay in touch via Facebook and Twitter.”
Benefits Barriers
 Observation tool  White noise
 Short messages  Short-term visibility
 Easy to share links &  Limited profile information
promote website
 Viral messaging
 Extensive networks
 Easily adopted in crisis
situation
 Good redundancy channel
 Easy integration with other
technology
 SMS friendly
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Buttons and badges
Widgets
Apps
 Graphically links that
share information about
campaigns and causes
online
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href="http://emergency.cdc.gov/socialmedia/zombies_blog.asp?s_ci
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emergency.cdc.gov"><img
src="http://www.cdc.gov/images/campaigns/emergency/zombies1_
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alt="Get A Kit, Make A Plan, Be Prepared. emergency.cdc.gov"
/></a><!-- BUTTON EMBED CODE ENDS HERE -->
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Benefits Drawbacks
 Easier functionality than  Apps limited to those with
internet on phones smart phones
 Apps can reach traditional  Apps often require a
non-internet users developer to build
 Facilitates unified message  Apps & badges short life span
sharing
 Can encourage viral message
dissemination
 Can be used to gather
information from the ground
 Added value to audience
 Entertaining
 Visually appealing
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Benefits Drawbacks
 Public prefers visual  Time to produce videos
information
 Limited interaction
 Can use and share
existing media
 Can easily make
existing media
available to your
audience
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 Location-based platforms
 Typically on mobile phones & smart phones
 Organizes and presents information specific
to your geographic location
 Nearby places & resources
 People nearby
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Benefits Drawbacks
 Limit information to  Privacy & safety
geographic area of considerations
interest
 Adds additional
element to
information
 Applications for
response efforts
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 Population of ~1,080,000
 During Irene, Fairfax County used:
 Blog  YouTube
 Facebook  Flickr
 Twitter  Ask Fairfax
 CEAN (alert system)  iPhone and Android apps
 Website
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 Launched emergency information blog
 During Irene:
 61 posts
 50,668 views
 77 comments
FACEBOOK TWITTER
 During Irene:  During Irene:
 48 posts  60 Tweets
 335,000 post views  333 retweets
 336 shares  292 new followers
 318 likes
 91 comments
 380 new fans
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 Fairfax County’s text and e-mail alert
system
 During Irene:
 Approximately 3,000 new subscribers
YOUTUBE FLICKR
 During Irene:  During Irene:
5 videos posted  11 pictures posted
 1,863 video views  5,766 views
 Media outlets posted
videos on their sites
= further reach
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 County’s website is
mobile-friendly
 Developed a special
mobile emergency home
page
 Developed iPhone and
Android apps
 During Irene:
 289 app dowloads
 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.
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 Consider relevance of social media to your
goals.
 Set aside a few hours to a day to learn tool(s)
and create an account.
 Start with a personal account.
 Create a plan for how you will use tools.
 Administrators
 Content
 policy
Arielle Slam Alyson Cobb
JSI Research & Training Institute JSI Research & Training Institute
aslam@jsi.com acobb@jsi.com
603.573.3341 603.573.3319
http://linkd.in/ArielleSlam http://linkd.in/AlysonCobb
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References
 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
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