22.03.2013
How Social Media Might Help You Survive the Next Big Disaster
Leysia Palen speaking at the Santa Fe Institute
Historically, when a wildfire, earthquake or hurricane strikes, people seek information from authorities. Today, however, with every disaster event, we learn of new and accelerated ways in which people not only seek information beyond official sources, but also how they produce and share it with neighbors, friends and strangers. Through social computing technology like Twitter, Open Street Maps, and other platforms, members of the public—victims, observers, even "citizen-responders"—are innovating ways in which they can participate in disaster response. Leysia Palen will describe these emergent socio-technical phenomena and, through examples from events over the past few years, will discuss the implications for emergency response and society at large.
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