[Infowarrior] - Social Networking Sites Critical In Disasters

[Richard Forno]

Researchers: Social Networking Sites Critical In Disaster Situations
Emergency Managers Urged To Embrace Facebook, Twitter
Christin Ayers, 7NEWS Reporter

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/18893493/detail.html#-

POSTED: 10:27 pm MDT March 9, 2009

BOULDER, Colo. -- Emergency managers say social networking sites like  
Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and Flickr are changing the way disaster  
situations are handled.

Dr. Jeannette Sutton of CU Boulder’s Natural Hazards Center has been  
conducting joint research with the school’s Department of Computer  
Science. The center's research found that, increasingly, when disaster  
strikes, the Web-savvy are seeking out and sending out information via  
social networking sites.

Sutton said one of the first documented signs of the phenomenon came  
in the hours after the shootings on the Virginia Tech campus in April  
2007.

Some crucial news about the shootings came not through law enforcement  
or the news media, but through Facebook.

“People who were distributed across these networks were able to  
identify all of the names of the deceased before the official  
announcement came out about who was deceased,” said Sutton.

Sutton said emergency management specialists risk irrelevance if they  
don’t embrace social networking.

Boulder County has already developed a Twitter account that it used  
extensively after the Olde Stage Coach fire broke out in January.

“By the end of that fire we had 100 new followers that were following  
us on Twitter and other organizations were re-tweeting us, including  
FEMA,” said Boulder County Commission spokeswoman Patricia Demchak.

Sutton said FEMA, which has started its own YouTube channel, is an  
exception. Many federal agencies remain skeptical about social  
networking, fearing that the sites foster more rumor than reality.

But Sutton’s research found that people are often extremely cautious  
about fact-checking their information before disseminating it.

Sophia B. Liu, a graduate student in computer science, is a perfect  
example. Liu tracks social networking during disaster situations as  
part of the Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society at CU Boulder.

A Boulder resident, she was evacuated after the Olde Stage Coach fire  
broke out and immediately started Twittering to keep track of the  
information she was hearing.

“That local knowledge of citizens who live in the area can be key in  
terms of providing quick information," said Liu.

Liu said many of the firefighters who were staged throughout her  
neighborhood as evacuations were under way shortly after the fire  
broke out were brought in from elsewhere and could not tell her the  
best route out of her neighborhood.

Liu wound up Twittering that and other crucial information. Boulder  
police spokeswoman Sarah Huntley said that in some cases, Liu’s  
information came out quicker than law enforcement’s.

Sutton said there is always a danger that rumor or gossip could have a  
negative impact, but she said the benefits of social networking in  
disaster situations far outweigh the risks.

“It's a way to tune in and find out, 'How is my warning being  
perceived?' and 'How is the info actually coming across to the  
public?'" Sutton said.

Some federal agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and  
Prevention are already tuning in to social networking. The city of  
Castle Rock has a Twitter account and Commerce City is in the process  
of developing one.

Boulder County is developing a social networking policy. If it is  
approved, the county will open Facebook and MySpace accounts as well.

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