Emergency Management, Twitter, and Social Media Evangelism

Latonero, M. & Shklovski, I. (2011). Emergency management, Twitter, & Social Media Evangelism. International Journal of Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management 3 (4), 67-86.

16 Pages Posted: 25 Apr 2012

See all articles by Mark Latonero

Mark Latonero

Data & Society Research Institute; USC Annenberg School of Communication

Irina Shklovski

IT University of Copenhagen

Date Written: 2011

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.

Keywords: Emergency Management, Evangelism, Fire Department, Organizations, Risk Communication, Social Media, Twitter

Suggested Citation

Latonero, Mark and Shklovski, Irina, Emergency Management, Twitter, and Social Media Evangelism (2011). Latonero, M. & Shklovski, I. (2011). Emergency management, Twitter, & Social Media Evangelism. International Journal of Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management 3 (4), 67-86., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2045863

Mark Latonero (Contact Author)

Data & Society Research Institute ( email )

36 West 20th Street
New York,, NY New York 10011
United States

USC Annenberg School of Communication ( email )

2250 Alcazar Street
Los Angeles, CA 90089
United States

Irina Shklovski

IT University of Copenhagen ( email )

Denmark

HOME PAGE: http://www.itu.dk/people/irsh

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