ABSTRACT
Chapter Objectives ◾ To comprehend the current level of the impact of social media on emergen-
cies and disasters ◾ To de„ne modern emergency management ◾ To consider the impact of centralized and decentralized organizations ◾ To understand the demographics of social media users ◾ To comprehend the historic development of the internet and social media
4 ◾
Modern Emergency Management As the title suggests, this book is intended to present the application of social media in the context of modern emergency management principles and practices. Although the title is simple and straightforward, the complexity is great. To begin, emergency management in the strictest sense includes activities that incorporate preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation-the four phases of emergency
DISASTER FOCUS-STRANDED CONNECTICUT BIKER
In August 2010, Leigh Fazzina, a 36-year-old media consultant, was participating in the Farmington (Connecticut) Triathlon that ran through a 300-acre portion of Connecticut forest (Figure 1.1). After completing the „rst leg (swimming) of the triathlon, Ms. Fazzina took to her bike to complete the second portion. Focusing intently on her speed, she quickly realized that she was no longer riding on the marked trail for the event. She was lost and alone in the Connecticut woods. Because of this realization, she decided to increase her speed in an attempt to „nd her way back to the oœcial course path; however, her bike hit a tree root, which caused her to sail over the handlebars of her bicycle. Ms. Fazzina screamed out for help but was not heard by anyone. Over the next ten minutes, no other bikes ventured near the area of the forest where she had accidentally ridden. She attempted to call her cousin on her cell phone, who she knew was at home, but had diœculty maintaining a voice phone signal long enough to speak with the cousin or to leave a message. Although she was unable to maintain a voice phone call, she ascertained that a simple message through social media would work. Consequently, she utilized a Twitter application on her smartphone to post a message to her more than 1,000 Twitter followers that said: “I’ve had a serious injury and NEED Help! Can someone please call Winding Trails in Farmington, CT tell them I’m stuck bike crash in woods.” Within minutes her Twitter followers from all over the worldincluding Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Washington, Chicago, Canada, Italy, and Oman-responded to contact the Farmington Fire Department and police service on her behalf. Emergency crews quickly found Ms. Fazzina and took her to a local hospital where she fully recovered. According to the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA), it is not that uncommon for hikers and bicyclists to get stranded and be unable to make calls, but they are able to use Twitter to notify someone of their location.13 Unfortunately, some people-including those within the traditional media-criticized Ms. Fazzina for utilizing social media during a crisis. On the other hand, others stressed that she utilized a tool that was available to her that was more robust than the primary and trusted sources.
