Social Networking: Crisis Communication - Ray Huntzinger ---- Reading Summary #11

Ray Huntzinger ---- Reading Summary #11



Reference: Winerman, L. (2009, January 21). Social networking: Crisis
communication. Nature. Retrieved on November 21, 2013, from
http://www.nature.com/news/2009/090121/full/457376a.html


Theme: This article describes the avenues of crisis communication
during disasters in the social networking era. Several case including
the 2007 Virginia Tech Shooting, the 2007 San Diego wildfire, and the
2008 China earthquake were compared in the context of how social media
affected crisis communication.


Summary:

· Traditional methods of crisis communication like telephones
generally have more limitations than modern social media outlets.

· It is often difficult to convince humans that they are at risk.

· Humans are more likely to be convinced they are at risk
through interaction with other humans but this has traditionally been
overly time consuming.

· Social media expands situational awareness for everyone involved.

· Social media and the internet continue to play a greater
role in crisis communication.

· Community response grids can be beneficial during
emergencies as family members, friends, and neighbors can share what
they know about the emergency to aid in emergency response and public
safety.



Application to the lesson topic:

Crisis communication is constantly changing with technology. The
article emphasized that changes in traditional crisis communication
are inevitable and should be evaluated and integrated based on lessons
learned through past incidents.



Application to emergency services:

Crisis communication is obviously an integral component of emergency
service delivery. As was discussed in the article, it can be difficult
to convince people they are at risk and simultaneously deliver this
message in a timely manner. The more the emergency management
community can learn how to most effectively communicate crisis, the
more lives will be saved. Lesson of the past and current behaviors
based on technology can be evaluated to over the most effective crisis
communication techniques and equipment.