social media monitoring during crises

8/4/2019 Social Media Monitoring During Crises

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IUPUI

Indiana University School

of Informatics

Steven Entezari

[SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING

DURING CRISES]How social media can enhance disaster planning, rescue, and recovery


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Steven Entezari

Social Media Monitoring During Crises

Social media has played an unprecedented role in saving lives during disasters and crises in

recent years. From the earthquakes in Haiti to tsunamis in Japan, social media has been a major

stakeholder in rescue and communication efforts by citizens in need. Unfortunately, however,designated emergency response and planning teams are not utilizing social media monitoring to its full

potential; yet.

Social media sites like Twitter and Facebook allow users to broadcast messages to friends and

followers in real-time, anytime, and anywhere via mobile devices like cell phones. In many cases, text

messages may be able to reach their destination even if voice calls fail due to power and data

connection outages (Gahran, 2011). Other social networking sites are also prevalent within different

niches such as YouTube for video messages, Twitpic (via Twitter) for images, and Foursquare for

location-relevant updates. These utilities are not only free and easy to use, but also adaptable for special

circumstances. An example of this is would be Googles Voice-to-Twitter service, launched during the2011 protests in Egypt, allowing protestors to post first-hand news from the ground while internet

connections were shut down.

Emergency agencies, first responders, political analysts and others involved with response

teams could utilize this information to supplement their tactics and planning before, during, and after a

crisis.

Current Uses

Over 45 million Americans access at least one of their social media sites multiple times, every

day (Webster, 2011). People are already sharing images, tweets and texts before, during, and after

crises (Merchant, Elmer, & Lurie, 2011); however these tend to be directed towards, and read only by

friends and followers of that particular social media user. This goldmine of real-time data seems

relatively untapped by the emergency response community. There are, however, many agencies utilizing

these media for broadcast purposes.

In 2009, the Alexandria, VA health department broadcast its vaccine location availabilities in real

time via Twitter, along with YouTube videos to tell over one million viewers what was happening, what

to expect, and how to prevent the spread of influenza (Merchant, Elmer, & Lurie, 2011). Clinic and ERwait times are also available in many areas for users of Twitter and smartphone apps (Versel, 2011).

These are just two examples of many instances where emergency agencies are alerting the public via

these social media. What is seen less, however, is the active use of the content within these social media

relating to the crisis at hand.

The American Red Cross utilizes an online message board system as a forum for sharing and

receiving information about suspected disaster victims (Merchant, Elmer, & Lurie, 2011). Emergency


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teams can then accommodate this information generated by individuals directly affected by the disaster

into their rescue and recovery plans. Similarly, first responders could utilize messages from social media

sites like Facebook and Twitter to respond to mid-to-high level emergencies. The Virginia state police

department is actively looking at ways to make sure someone is monitoring and responding to any

Facebook emergencies when 911 goes down, or a major disaster strikes (Petriello, 2011).

The academic realm is beginning to address the need for the integration as well. Andrea Tapia,

an associate professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State will begin

teaching a course, in the Fall of 2011, that will explore the interconnectedness of information, people

and technology in a crisis (Lynch, 2011). Tapia also leads a project called EMERSE (Enhanced Messaging

for the Emergency Response Sector). EMERSE categorizes tweets and texts from disaster sites into data

NGOs can use to aid victims (Lynch, 2011). The only other Crisis Informatics class is at Dominican

University. Unfortunately there currently lacks a scientific analysis of these capabilities. According to the

New England Journal of Medicine, few published scientific studies have applied these tools to

evaluating the capabilities or effectiveness of social media in public health emergencies (2011).

Currently, these capabilities are being used by some agencies, but mostly by individuals to other

individuals. It has proven to be an unparalleled system to connect individuals within crises. Emphasis

should be placed on the utilization of these tools by emergency response personnel.

Future Uses

Many emergency services currently utilize these social media to broadcast vital and time critical

health information. An aggregate look at this data or a real-time meta-analysis of these systems could

show trends that arent immediately evident when seen separately. Grouping data from healthcare

centers, for example, could make the identification of capable health care centers more efficient by

identifying centers that are over capacity during an emergency.

Another exciting look ahead is the capability of this type of system to improve the situational

awareness of a crisis specific to its geographic area (Merchant, Elmer, & Lurie, 2011). Models created by

emergency personnel during a crisis or natural disaster could assimilate or accommodate this real-time

information to supplement decision making (Gahran, 2011). Resource management could be

supplemented as well by identifying resources that may not have always been seen. Perhaps off-duty

nurses or paramedics who check in at a venue could also broadcast their professional background and

willingness to help in the event of a nearby emergency (Merchant, Elmer, & Lurie, 2011).

Russ Johnson, Director for Public Safety and Homeland Security for ESRI, makes note of

simplified novice incident reporting by way of and context-aware smartphones (Gahran, 2011). This data

can be pulled, compared with messages from social media, and aggregated to enhance planning and

disaster recovery. In addition to this, Foursquare check-ins could share geographic information about

hazards during and after a crisis. These data, when coupled with a timeline and a map, could potentially


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tell the story of a disaster and make capabilities and vulnerabilities known to better assist in planning for

future disasters.

The Wisconsin Department of Administration published its Capital Protest Response: After

Action Report and Improvement Plan, addressing strengths and weaknesses of their plans and delivery

during the February 2011 Protests. In the write up, regarding phase one of the three phase process, theadministration explicitly makes mention of needing to improve their ability to monitor social media

during events to anticipate crowd psychology, actions and reactions. (Wisconsin Department of

Administration, 2011, p. 11). Mention was also made of getting engaged in social networking much too

late and not addressing the use of social media allow[ing] protestors to mobilize and react very quickly

(Wisconsin Department of Administration, 2011, p. 12).

Integrating these networks into emergency management plans and preparedness activities

could help build social capital and community resilience, making it easier for both professional

responders and ordinary citizens to use familiar social media networks and tools in a crisis (Merchant,

Elmer, & Lurie, 2011). Additionally, Tapia from Penn State mentions the unlikelihood that people would

ever use a social media application that was designed specifically for emergency situations (Lynch,

2011) due to the general purpose of sites like Facebook and Twitter. Users arent navigating to domain-

specific websites to address disaster-related issues; they are making note of them to their friends and

followers. It is this information that emergency response teams could utilize to better prepare and

respond to crises via social data.

Challenges

Unfortunately, enough work has not been done to identify better ways of addressing at-risk and

vulnerable populations as well as the accuracy and legitimacy of non-specific messages via these social

media (Versel, 2011). The good news is that inaccuracies that are broadcast via social media sites are

usually corrected by other members of the community (Merchant, Elmer, & Lurie, 2011). Many posts

regarding disasters or other crises are incomplete; For instance, someone might tweet Power Lines

Down but neglect to specify the location (Gahran, 2011). Introducing this to the public and educating

them on ways to tweet and post during emergencies could help curve this level of error for emergency

responders. Russ Johnson makes many suggestions on how to tweet during disasters in the article

Mobile Devices Save Lives in Emergencies (2011).

Monitoring mobile social media during a major disaster are limited by certain physicalrestrictions. For instance, the most fruitful timeframe to utilize social information during or after a

disaster is within the first few hours due to battery life constraints. Technologies have been created

recently for solar charging and extended battery life that can help resolve some of these physical

restraints. Utilizing these media can also help forearm emergency responders in planning by monitoring

protests and riots. In August of 2011, riots broke out in England, organized by way of social media sites


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like Facebook and Twitter (Pinkston, 2011). The monitoring of these systems by emergency responders

would have given the teams a leg-up on the rioters and the opportunity to plan accordingly.

Experts say that the best method for the integration of social media into emergency planning

and response is to augment it; not replace. Implementing social media in this way does present some

ground-level concerns in itself. In many cases, the first responders are the ones to resist this paradigmadjustment. According to Russ Johnson of ESRI, They dont want to be distracted by or overloaded with

information. They just want to focus on saving people and putting out fires (Gahran, 2011). Another

concern of the public could be one of privacy. Identifying who will monitor what and when is a fragile

piece of the bigger puzzle (Merchant, Elmer, & Lurie, 2011). It is also unknown if sharing-behavior would

be modified given that individuals knew emergency responders would now be listening in.

Conclusion

Social media like Facebook or Twitter were designed to broadcast a message to friends,

followers, and the public. It has been observed, during crises, that individuals tend to use these social

media as a means to communicate with one another within the crisis itself. Emergency response and

planning teams have the capabilities to incorporate this raw data into their schema of crisis

management; not as a replacement, but as an advancement.


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Works Cited

Gahran, A. (2011, July 21). Mobile Devices Save Lives in Emergencies. Retrieved August 8, 2011, from

CNN: http://articles.cnn.com/2011-07-21/tech/mobile.emergency.response.gahran_1_emergency-

response-tweets-social-media?_s=PM:TECH

Lynch, J. (2011, August 3). New IST Course Examinies Crisis Informatics. Retrieved August 8, 2011, fromPenn State Live: http://live.psu.edu/story/54297

Merchant, R. M., Elmer, S., & Lurie, N. (2011). Integrating Social Media into Emergency-Preparedness

Efforts. New England Journal of Medicine , 289 - 291.

Petriello, G. (2011, July 14). Social Media Gaining Traction with Emergency Dispatchers. Richmond, VA,

USA.

Pinkston, R. (2011, August 10). British Riots Exposing Social Media's Dark Side. Retrieved August 10,

2011, from CBS News: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/08/10/earlyshow/main20090575.shtml

Versel, N. (2011, July 29). In Case of Emergency, Check Twitter. Information Week, p. 2011.

Webster, T. (2011, May 29). The Social Habit 2011. Retrieved August 8, 2011, from Edison Research:

http://www.edisonresearch.com/home/archives/2011/05/the_social_habit_2011.php

Wisconsin Department of Administration. (2011). Capitol Protest Response: After Action Report &

Improvement Plan. Madison.

social media monitoring during crises

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