Emergency management, Twitter and social media evangelism

Mark Latonero, Irina Shklovski

Research output: Journal Article or Conference Article in JournalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

This paper considers how emergency response organizations utilize available social media technologies to communicate with the public in emergencies and to potentially collect valuable information using the public as sources of information on the ground. The authors discuss the use of public social media tools from
the emergency management professional’s viewpoint with a particular focus on the use of Twitter. Limited research has investigated Twitter usage in crisis situations from an organizational perspective. This paper contributes to the understanding of organizational innovation, risk communication, and technology adoption by emergency management. An in-depth longitudinal case study of Public Information Officers (PIO) of the Los Angeles Fire Department highlights the importance of the information evangelist within emergency management organizations and details the challenges those organizations face engaging with social media and Twitter. This article provides insights into practices and challenges of new media implementation for crisis and risk management organizations.
Original languageEnglish
JournalInternational Journal of Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management
Volume3
Issue number4
Pages (from-to)1-16
Number of pages16
ISSN1937-9390
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2011

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Emergency management, Twitter and social media evangelism'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this