Crises, Crowds & Online Convergence: Social Media Use during Disasters Kate Starbird Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering [email protected]

In the week after Hurricane Sandy, users sent more than 20 million Sandy-related tweets

As Sandy came ashore, Instagram was processing more than 10 photos per second In the week after Hurricane Sandy, users sent more than 20 million Sandy-related tweets

First “social” disaster?

As Sandy came ashore, Instagram was processing more than 10 photos per second Social Media Use during Disasters: An Increasing Trend

• 2005 Hurricane Katrina: Craigslist used to help locate family, pets, shelter • 2007 VT shooting: Students use Facebook to share their own status and identify victims • 2007 San Diego fires: use, hashtag uptake • 2010 Haiti Earthquake: 3.3 million tweets in 3 weeks • 2012 US Tornados: 800 tweets per minute • 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing: Reddit madness, 20M+ tweets in 7 days Social Computing & Crisis Events Social Computing & Crisis Events Social Computing & Crisis Events Opportunities related to Social Media Use during Crises Opportunity: Citizen Reporting Opportunity: Crisis Communications Challenges related to Social Media Use during Crises Volume

Challenges related to Social Media Use during Crises Volume

Noise

Challenges related to Social Media Use during Crises Volume

Noise

Lost Context

Challenges related to Social Media Use during Crises Volume

Noise

Lost Context

Challenges related to Social Media Use during Crises

Misinformation & Disinformation Volume

Noise

Lost Context

Challenges related to Social Media Use during Crises

Misinformation & Disinformation

Unstructured Data How can useful information be extracted from social media updates?

Responders

Social Media

Blogs Affected people

Resources Questions for Responders regarding Social Media Use

• What’s it good for? • How can you use it for your own situational awareness? • How can you use it for outgoing communication? • How to engage? What are the rules? • What to do with online “convergers”? How can useful information be extracted from social media updates?

Responders

Social Media

Blogs Affected people

Resources The Crowd is Working toText Help Process Information The Crowd is Working toText Help Process Information Twitter

Hurricane Sandy Twitter

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy How the CrowdText “Works” How the CrowdText “Works”

Digital Volunteers Self-Organizing Crowdwork Self-Organizing Crowdwork

• Identifying and amplifying actionable info Self-Organizing Crowdwork

• Identifying and amplifying actionable info

carelpedre: More than 1. There are 6 ALIVE!!!!!!!! @ Rue Centre Building, Napolin #haiti HELPPPPP!!!

2010 Haiti Earthquake Self-Organizing Crowdwork

• Identifying and amplifying actionable info

carelpedre: More than 1. There are 6 ALIVE!!!!!!!! @ Rue Centre Building, Napolin #haiti HELPPPPP!!!

(14 authors): RT @carelpedre: More than 1. There are 6 ALIVE!!!!!!!! @ Rue Centre Building, Napolin #haiti HELPPPPP!!!

2010 Haiti Earthquake Self-Organizing Crowdwork

• Identifying and amplifying actionable info

I quickly identified the sources of good information ... the people who meant well but got tricked by hoaxers and tricksters ... and the people actually IN Haiti, both locals, journos and aid workers.

2010 Haiti Earthquake Self-Organizing Crowdwork

• Identifying and amplifying actionable info

bouldercolorado: Please RT - evacuees from the #FlagstaffFire can call the Emergency Operations Center at 303-413-7730 for fire & evacuation information.

2012 Colorado Wildfires Self-Organizing Crowdwork

• Identifying and amplifying actionable info

bouldercolorado: Please RT - evacuees from the #FlagstaffFire can call the Emergency Operations Center at 303-413-7730 for fire & evacuation information.

(459 authors): RT @bouldercolorado: Please RT - evacuees from the #FlagstaffFire can call the Emergency Operations Center at 303-413-7730 for fire & evacuation information.

2012 Colorado Wildfires Self-Organizing Crowdwork

• Identifying and amplifying actionable info • Routing information to response organizations Self-Organizing Crowdwork

• Identifying and amplifying actionable info • Routing information to response organizations

AfroLatino: @CNN Greek Rescue Team Confirms There's is People ALIVE @ Rue Centre Building Napolin. THEY NEED BACK UP. HELPP!!!

PepperFire: @operationAyiti RT @carelpedre: HELP!! Someone is Still ALIVE umber the Rubbles @ Rue Centre Building, Napolin #haiti RETWEET

2010 Haiti Earthquake Self-Organizing Crowdwork

• Identifying and amplifying actionable info • Routing information to response organizations • Verifying information and correcting misinformation Self-Organizing Crowdwork

• Identifying and amplifying actionable info • Routing information to response organizations • Verifying information and correcting misinformation

2013 Boston Marathon Bombings Self-Organizing Crowdwork

• Identifying and amplifying actionable info • Routing information to response organizations • Verifying information and correcting misinformation

2013 Boston Marathon Bombings Self-Organizing Crowdwork

• Identifying and amplifying actionable info • Routing information to response organizations • Verifying information and correcting misinformation • Responding to information requests Self-Organizing Crowdwork

• Identifying and amplifying actionable info • Routing information to response organizations • Verifying information and correcting misinformation • Responding to information requests • Connecting and coordinating efforts Emergent Organization of Digital Volunteers Self-Organizing Crowdwork

• Identifying and amplifying actionable info • Routing information to response organizations • Verifying information and correcting misinformation • Responding to information requests • Connecting and coordinating efforts • Stitching messages across new and old media Hurricane Irene - Catskills Liveblog

Hurricane Irene Hurricane Irene - Catskills Liveblog

Hurricane Irene Information Ecosystem around Hurricane Irene Catskills Liveblog

Hurricane Irene Information Ecosystem around Hurricane Irene Catskills Liveblog

Social Media are Inter-connected

Hurricane Irene Structured Crowdwork Flight MA370 Structured Crowdwork Structured Crowdwork Structured Crowdwork

Typhoon Yolanda Structured Crowdwork

Crowdwork can be Intentionally Shaped

Typhoon Yolanda Leveraging Digital VolunteerText Communities Leveraging Digital Volunteer Communities

• Utilizing the products of crowdworkers • Seeding digital volunteer communities with productive tasks • Giving digital volunteers pre-packaged messages to share Virtual Operations Support Teams (VOSTs) Virtual Operations Support Teams (VOSTs)

• Trusted team of online volunteers Virtual Operations Support Teams (VOSTs)

• Trusted team of online volunteers • Work with an Emergency Manager to help monitor social media content and maintain social media presence Virtual Operations Support Teams (VOSTs)

• Trusted team of online volunteers • Work with an Emergency Manager to help monitor social media content and maintain social media presence • Good sources: • Jeff Phillips (@LosRanchosEM, @_JSPhillips) • Cheryl Bledsoe (@CherylBle) • Scott Reuter (@sct_r) Engaging in the Conversation Important (Open) Questions

• Structural, Legal, Ethical questions • Digital Divide, Accessibility • Capacity to deal with these new channels • How do we weigh social media data against other information sources? • Can responders rely on certain outputs from the crowd? • Privacy concerns • The issue of misinformation • Malicious manipulation of the information space Who is using social media?

• 73% of online adults use some form of social media (Pew) • Facebook: 71% (skewed toward young, but still 45% of 65+) • Twitter: 18% • Instagram: 17% • 80% of general public and 69% of those online believe national emergency response organizations should monitor social media sites (ARC, 2011) • 63% say they turn to online news during emergencies, 90% say television news and 73% say radio news (ARC, 2011) 2010 Gulf Oil Spill Early Adopter: Brian Humphrey - LAFD Early Adopter: Brian Humphrey - LAFD Early Adopter: Brian Humphrey - LAFD

• Early EM adopter • Three Twitter accounts Early Adopter: Brian Humphrey - LAFD Brian Humphrey - LAFD Early Adopter: Brian Humphrey - LAFD Brian Humphrey - LAFD Early Adopter: Brian Humphrey - LAFD

• Early EM adopter • Three accounts • Individual - personal (@BrianHumphrey) • Official - outgoing (@LAFD) • Conversation - interaction (@LAFDtalk) Early Adopter: Brian Humphrey - LAFD

• Early EM adopter • Three accounts • Individual - personal (@BrianHumphrey) • Official - outgoing (@LAFD) • Conversation - interaction (@LAFDtalk) • Establishing the “rules of engagement” • Follow him! @SeattlePD Others

• I wish I could list them all, but some other social media- savvy EMs I have connected with: • @CherylBle • @JimAleski • @_JSPhillips • @schuback • @wharman and @riaglo • @gislio • ... Why Engage in Social Media? Why Engage in Social Media?

• Reach publics who are turning to social media first • Establishing trusted connections - to leverage later, when you need it • Preparedness messaging • Identifying and addressing rumors / misinformation • Identifying and addressing negative sentiment about response efforts Engaging in the Conversation Thank you!

Kate Starbird University of Washington Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering Email: [email protected] Twitter: @katestarbird Acknowledgements

Students Dharma Dailey, Mania Orand, Camille Cobb, Jim Maddock, Ted McCarthy, Ankitha Bharadwaj, Annuska Perkins

SOME Lab - University of Washington Robert Mason, Shawn Walker and others

Project EPIC - University of Colorado Boulder Leysia Palen, Ken Anderson and colleagues

US National Science Foundation Grants 1243170 & 1342252 Grants IIS-0546315 & IIS-0910586 NSF Graduate Fellowship Tracking the Spread of Misinformation

Detecting Misinformation

Tweets about a report that a young girl running in the marathon was killed

4/15 4/16 4/17 4/18 4/19 4/20 4/21 4/22 4/23