As a full blown addict and ‘my precioussssss’ level of a lover of my iPhone (the lowly 3 at that), my mother often mocks me about what I would do if there was some sort of EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) that wiped out all our electronics. The amazing use of the likes of Twitter during the recent natural disasters around the world, shows that it isn’t just me that feel this way.
This GIANT infographic produced by SCRIBBAL shows the uses by civilians and governments during the most recent ‘disasters.’ 40,000 people tweeted during the last east coast earthquake. Presumably most were of the "hey did you feel that" sort. After the giant earthquake that hit Japan, the majority of the social media uses were more crucial – searching for loved ones, donation organization and so forth.
What social media has shown, is that during a disaster, the internet seems to work great, which boggles my mind. And while the feeds may be clogged with misinformation, annoying retweeted information, people stating the bleedin obvious, and so on – the fact that mediums like Twitter also helps save lives and unite people. Not only that, but the speed of twitter can far outpace the usual ‘official’ channels allowing faster and more focused efforts of rescue and so forth.
Mashable even came up a with a list of apps and ideas to use your smart phones to better prepare you for a disaster. Once great idea is to create a customized map using Google’s MyMaps service. This helps you create and share an escape route or a meeting place for you and your family to connect.
A great tip I learned from the people behind ICE (In Case of Emergency) was to add the letters ICE in my contact list on my iPhone beside my emergency contacts (husband, mom, etc). This came from a paramedic who pointed out that in an accident, we might not be able to speak, but our phone’s could. Life360 takes that idea even further with apps that allow you to set up a detailed list of emergency information including contacts and allergies.
In my opinion, the key to making GOOD use of the social media platforms during a disaster is to not flood the feed. It drives me crazy when people post ‘BREAKING NEWS’ when someone already did….600 times. Check to see what you have to say hasn’t already been said. Keep the feed free for the people who really need it. If you are not in the disaster and do not know anyone there…..try to stay quiet or just retweet pertinent information. Find out first how you can help before the chatter begins.
It is fascinating how during any sort of event now, the first reaction is to either film it or talk about it. I won’t discuss peoples need to record themselves committing crimes during pointless riots. I also had to giggle at the people in the crowd at the recent OMD show in Vancouver. The amount of people with arms in the air filming the band was crazy, and filming themselves experiencing the show…hmmm. The 21st Century version of the Bic, I presume. What was interesting was that this was a mostly over 40 crowd. That just shows you how much the SOCIAL in social media has infiltrated all generations.
Social media has totally changed how we think and act online and off. It is more than a tool. It is more than a cute device we carry around….the human pscyhe has adjusted and adapted to it in ways I don’t think we have ever seen before.
I would love to hear people’s thoughts on social media etiquette and our use of social media. What do you think compels people to feel the need to record everything all the time?