Twitter

Twitter in Emergency

Social Media and social networks are being used increasingly for fundraising, communication updates and at times of disaster – from posting updates on Twitter to sharing information on You Tube.

I can’t say I’m a twitter user, I’ve never felt the need to use such a program. Some could say that there's something wrong with me and I'm not taking advantage of what social media has to offer. Nonetheless i can say i have a Facebook account. I personally don’t see the need to also have twitter and to inform my friends or the wider community about some minor detail that may be going on in my life or what I’m having for dinner.

In saying this though, I believe it has a place in the social media network and one great example is no natural disaster or revolt can pass without an examination of Twitter, the free internet social media service that lets users type out news, rants, ideas or cries for help in 140 characters or less.

After the 8.9 magnitude Earthquake hit the North East Coast of Japan Twitter erupted with activity from the major Japanese cities after local and national phone and Internet services were disrupted. It also became a source of further information that other networks and media outlets didn’t cover. Twitter immediately became the emergency epicenter for spreading news and communicating with friends and family. One headline I saw was ‘As Japan scrambles, Twitter reigns.’ Social media playing a leading role in a disaster. 

Spatial analysis service CASA's Tweet-o-meter was reading over 1200 tweets per minute coming from Japan, with the likes of the UK also topping the scales with equal numbers of Tweets as the country woke up to news of the earthquake. Japan is the record-holding nation for most Tweets ever in one second: nearly 7,000 were fired off in a moment on the most recent New Year’s Eve.

It seems social media is even quicker at spreading news than news agencies. Twitter users spread news of the "tsunami's estimated time of arrival on U.S. shores" even before an official government warning went out.

Since the crisis began, Twitter has proved indispensable in a country with downed phone lines and cell networks crashing from an enormous volume of calls. In addition to e-mail, many Japanese have turned to Twitter to find missing loved ones.

I believe social media will continue to grow; with the likes of Twitter coming to the forefront of social media in times of disasters as it is so easily accessible as well as a incredibly supportive tool. Just about everyone carries mobile phones in today’s society and online media networks are capturing this market.

After writing this I can’t say I feel the urge to set up a twitter account; however I can see that it can be a useful source of social media in a time of need and not merely just a place to tell your friends and family what you’re having for dinner. 

Source 1

Source 2

Source 3

Source 4