By Michelle Guertin In light of the Cambridge Analytica scandal with Facebook, many people are thinking to themselves: "who is collecting data on me, and what do they know?". This coffee talk will dive into social media and how it can be used in disaster and emergency management. Back in 2009, there were approximately 175 million active users on Facebook (Kaplan & Haenlein (2010). Now, according to Statistica (2018), there are over 2 billion active users in the last quarter of 2017. People now rely on Social Media sites and apps, like Facebook and Instagram, to stay connected with friends, family and their communities. These remote communication platforms have created online communities that have allowed us to "share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content such as videos" (Merriam-Webster Inc, 2017), and have now become an essential part of our day to day lives. Although many are appalled at the use of information from these platforms, specifically Facebook in the latest Cambridge Analytica scandal, does Social Media have its place in the betterment of our communities? Chang's (2018, March 23) visual depiction of the latest data scandal demonstrates how the data of millions of Facebook users were used in President Trump's campaign: Chang, A. (2018, March 23). The Facebook and Cambridge Analytica scandal, explained with a simple diagram. Retrieved March 23, 2018, from https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/23/17151916/facebook-cambridge-analytica-trump-diagram What if we took this depiction and focused it on disaster and emergency preparedness and notification? So how can the role of social media influence situational awareness and disaster preparedness? Many within the academic field of disaster emergency management, have demonstrated how social media fosters an environment of free-flow information between the affected communities and the emergency management workers. Tobias (2011) brought up how crowdsourced information was used by government respondents to determine the gravity of emergency situations such as in the San Bruno, CA gas explosion. This concept allowed one to gain more situational awareness before any official statement is released on these situations of Crisis. Herfort et al. (2014) discuss how social media platforms improve situational awareness by providing pertinent information to DEM workers. They also mention how geographical data pulled from the use of programs such as Twitter enhances the knowledge that DEM workers have, allowing them to better respond during a crisis and better monitor a crisis before it occurs. Starbird and Palen (2012) observed that the retweeting feature of Twitter contributed to the success of the uprising because it provided tactical information to those on the ground and reduced online “crowd noise” by filtering and recommending information to various stakeholders thereby contributing to improved situational awareness. Sorensen, J.H. & Sorensen, B.V. (2011) noted that "warning processes have traditionally been linear communication systems” (p.185). With the emergence of new technology and its accessibility, the ability to provide information and warning to a population has increased significantly. There has also been the creation of private warning messages, national news coverage as well as phone applications which assist in the propagation of disaster information as well as details on relief efforts that are being made. Some of the positive contributions that Social Media has made towards disaster and emergency management are: The provision of Shelter and Assistance:
Having real-time/boots on the ground information in a disaster or emergency situations has been incredibly helpful in relief efforts. However, the use of social media in the DEM field, has created a new expectation for instant information to be provided. This puts a greater demand on PIOs and DEM workers to search for facts and info to push out to the residents affected (Hughes & Palen, 2012). Although some may find the maintenance requirements taxing, processes are being improved and better established. These information tools have greatly assisted DEM workers effectively perform their duties as well helped victims find shelter and reconnect with their families and friends. The Red Cross has a great PDF on this topic! Check it out here. This is a topic that will continue to gain traction as technology and communications are constantly evolving and improving. What are your thoughts? We'd love to hear from you! References Chang, A. (2018, March 23). The Facebook and Cambridge Analytica scandal, explained with a simple diagram. Retrieved March 23, 2018, from https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/23/17151916/facebook-cambridge-analytica-trump-diagram Cohen, S.E. (2013, March, 7). Sandy marked a shift for social media use in disasters. Emergency Management. Retrieved from http://www.govtech.com/em/disaster/Sandy-Social-Media-Use-in-Disasters.html Dave,R., Buddha, S.K., McCartney, M., West, J. (2013). Augmenting situation awareness for first responders using social media as a sensor. 12th IFAC Symposium on Analysis, Design, and Evaluation of Human-Machine Systems. Drabek, T.E., McEntire, D.A. (2003). Emergent phenomena and the sociology of disaster: Lessons, trends and opportunities from the research literature. Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal. 12 (2). pp. 97-112. doi 10.1108/09653560310474214 Harrald, J. & Jefferson, T. (2007). Shared situational awareness in emergency management mitigation and response. In System Sciences, 2007. HICSS 2007. 40th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (pp. 1-8). IEEE. Herfort, B., deAlbuquerque, J.P., Schelhorn, S.J., Zipf, A. (2014). Exploring the Geographical Relations Between Social Media and Flood Phenomena to Improve Situational Awareness. In J. Huerta, S. Schade, C. Granell (Eds.), Connecting a Digital Europe Through Location and Place (pp. 55-71). Springerlink. Hughes, A.L., Palen, L. (2012). The evolving role of the public information officer: An examination of social media in emergency management. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management 9(1). Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. Business Horizons,53(1), 59-68. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2009.09.003 Merriam-Webster Inc. (2017) Definition of Social Media. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social%20media Muhammad, I. (2016). The role of social media and artificial intelligence for disaster response. ISCRAM 2016. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/mimran15/the-role-of-social-media-and-artificial-intelligence-for-disaster-response Quarantelli, E.L. (1997). Ten criteria for evaluating the management of community disasters. Overseas Development Institute. 21(1). pp. 39-56. Blackwell Publishers. Sawchak, A. (2013, 29 Oct). Social media’s role in disaster response improves overall organizational resilience. Forbes Brand Voice. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/sungardas/2013/10/29/social-medias-role-in-disaster-response-improves-overall-organizational-resiliency/#6123f702121f Starbird, K., & Palen, L. (2012). (How) will the revolution be retweeted: Information diffusion and the 2011 Egyptian uprising. Proceedings of Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work 2012. Seattle, Washington. Statistica. (2018, January). Facebook users worldwide 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2018, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/ Sorensen, J. H., & Sorensen, B. V. (2007). Chapter 11: Community processes: Warning and evacuation. In R. Havidan, E. Quarantelli & R. R. Dynes (Eds.), Handbook of disaster research (pp.183-199). New York: Springer. Tierney, K. (2009). Disaster response: Research findings and their implications for resilience measures. CARRI Research Report. Tobias, E. (2011). Using Twitter and other social media platforms to provide situational awareness during an incident. Journal of Business Continuity and Emergency Planning, 5(3), p. 208-223
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