Case Study: The Role of Social Media in a National Crisis Without warning, at 2:

Question

Case Study: The Role of Social Media in a National Crisis

Without warning, at 2:49 p.m. on April 15, 2013, two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Three people were killed, hundreds injured, and countless lives affected. The Boston Police Department used social media, including Twitter (@bostonpolice), to communicate with the country that day and in the days that followed. According to The Huffington Post analysis of the event, “The police department’s stream of tweets ended up being the best defense against misinformation and Bostonians’ lifeline for communication about the men terrorizing their city. This single Twitter account, perhaps more than anything else on the Internet, memorialized the horror of the bombs and the joy of the capture in real time.”

1. Document how social media was used as an emergency communication tool during the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing.

2. Make a recommendation as to whether businesses should use social media as a communications tool during a disaster situation. Be sure to include both pros and cons.

3. Would your answer be different if the assignment was to make a recommendation as to whether colleges and universities should adopt social media for communicating about a disaster? Why or why not?

Explanation / Answer

1) From the moment the two bombs went off near the end of the Boston Marathon, social media played a unique role in providing immediate access to the most up-to-date information and as a platform this made it possible for the public to be actively involved in the story and also as fully participating partners in the identification and hunt for the suspected terrorists. The social media tool was used to reach out to the public to inform about was going on and what to do in that situation. The participants also use social media tool to share photos and share their conditions.

2)From the usage of social media in above situation, we can strongly recommend of using social media as a communication tool during a disaster situation. The main benefits of using social media are as follows

i) The social media helped to reach out people quickly and share the information.

ii) The people were given live information about the situation.

iii) Further during disaster excess usage of phone call causes a problem in the network and make it slows whereas social media will not create such problem and many people can be reached without any delay.

iv) Social media also helps to get some important information and proofs.

The main drawback of using social media disaster can be sometimes in some situation the information which is widely spreading may not be correct.

3) Yes, it would good initiative if colleges and universities should adopt social media for communicating about a disaster.

The reason can be the students can be easily available on social media and they can get a quick response to the problems.

Further, the information can easily widespread.

and the only thing is to provide the right information and provide measures in case of any wrong information.

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