Jul 23rd, 2008 |
For all the churn around Web 2.0 in the public sector– can we? should we? how much would it cost? – it turns out that there’s a much more prosaic possibility than the conversion of Facebook into a focus group gizmo. And it’s one with built-in appeal to government
In emergencies, according to a report prepared for the University of Colorado, people are more likely to turn first not to traditional media but to social media sites, blogs, instant messaging and other staples of the 2.0 world.
Twitter and Google mashups in particular are useful, according to the study.
A related study of wildfires in southern California last year found that people used Twitter to keep friends informed of their condition, minute by minute. They also used Google Maps to track the progress of the fire.
e-Marketer Daily said the study found mass media unreliable “as they struggled to access remote areas from which Web site users with an Internet connection could easily report. Media sites also focused on the ‘sensational,’ such as fires close to celebrities’ homes, which distorted the overall picture, the scientists said.”
It’s an intriguing finding; shouldn’t require too much in the way of Deep Thinking to weave 2.0 into the array of emergency management tools that are standard everywhere these daysl
