Backchannels on the Front Lines

Joseph Galbraith

Reference:

 Sutton, J., Palen, L., & Shlovski, I. (2008). Backchannels on the Front Lines. Washington D.C.: F. Fiedrich and B. Van de Walle, eds.

Theme: The use of what used to be referred to as conventional means of disaster communication to the public is being used more frequently.  Though there is concern that the validity of the information may be unconfirmed, this technology is precursor to advanced technology that will greatly increase communication. This report studies the use of communication among members of the public during the 2007 wild land fires in Southern California.

Summary:

• Emergency managers and responders are failing to recognize the capacity of the public to act on their own to conduct rescue and recovery efforts.

• Through social media the public is able to organize and coordinate efforts better than ever before.

• This type of communication has been labeled as backchannel communication

• The Incident Command System has traditionally used unidirectional communication as a means to inform the public. 

• In the past, peer to peer communication has been thought to be inaccurate and unreliable.  However in recent examples this type of communication has proven to be very beneficial.

• This study showed that 54% of respondents used personal electronic devices to access information about the fires.  Most respondents also turned to national news outlets but thought that they lacked specificity.

•Some of the motivation behind back channel communication was the fact that some citizens were frustrated with the lack of media information they were receiving.  Because of their frustration they felt a sense of duty to distribute information using social media.

 

Application to the lesson topic:

This is very good study about the use of unconventional communication or "back channel communication".  During a disaster, social media may be the most practical means to get crucial information to the public. 

Application to emergency services:

Back Channel Communication should be applied to emergency communication plans.   It would not be practical to depend on this type of peer to peer communication but it should be considered so that communication resources might be shifted to where they are needed the most.  Using a more multi-directional means of communication will increase our response to a large scale disaster.  Educating the public on the use and importance of social media could be included in Community Emergency Response Team Training.