ABSTRACT
Chapter Objectives ◾ To analyze the bene„ts and challenges of social media application and imple-
mentation for emergency management ◾ To identify return-on-investment (ROI) strategies for proper implementation
of social media ◾ To identify privacy and security issues for the implementation of social media ◾ To understand the impact of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and
“sunshine laws” on social media use by emergency managers ◾ To identify functional considerations and components of social media policy
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Hurdles and Hindrances One of the most signi„cant hurdles for the average emergency management oœce to implement ešective and appropriate social media programs is the fear of doing it wrong. Ironically, this fear is paradoxical considering the example set during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill where doing nothing was as dangerous to sensitive public messages as doing it “wrong.” is chapter focuses on the proper application
DISASTER FOCUS-DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL
On April 20, 2010, methane gas from a high-pressure Gulf of Mexico oil drilling well on a rig called the Deepwater Horizon expanded out of the drilling column, causing a signi„cant explosion. Fire quickly engulfed the drilling platform. Many of the workers escaped the Deepwater Horizon rig by lifeboat; however, 11 workers were never found despite prolonged searches by the U.S. Coast Guard and were later presumed dead. After burning for nearly a day and a half, the Deepwater Horizon sank on the morning of April 22, 2010. On the afternoon that the rig ultimately sank, an oil slick began to spread around the former rig site (Figure 4.1). e source of the oil spill was ultimately identi„ed as a sea-§oor oil gusher from the damaged drilling pipe previously utilized by the Deepwater Horizon. is oil leak §owed for three months during the summer of 2010 and was eventually stopped by a procedure called a “static kill” that sealed the leak using a mixture of cement and heavy drilling mud. According to some estimates, by the time the leak was stopped it had released about 4.9 million barrels or 205.8 million gallons of crude oil. e Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig was owned by Transocean, operated by Halliburton, contracted by British Petroleum (BP), and inspected for safety by the U.S. Minerals Management Service. is division of responsibilities quickly became the focus of response and recovery activities. Traditional media as well as the general public through social media channels began to question who was accountable for the loss of life and environmental impact of the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon. Although the U.S. federal government ultimately focused responsibility for the event on BP, the public relations consequences were profoundly magni„ed through the application (or lack thereof) of social media by the major players. Speci„cally, BP did not engage social media in earnest to present its version of response to the oil spill until several weeks into the spill response. Moreover, their actual Twitter and Facebook accounts were signi„cantly overshadowed by parody and boycott pages established on Twitter and Facebook, respectively. In retrospect, BP’s oversight related to the proper and ešective implementation of social media for disaster communications cost them millions of dollars in revenue through signi„cant impacts to brand imaging and loss of clients.1,2,3,4
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of social media systems, including models of execution, policy implementation, and challenges-both legal and structural-that exist for emergency managers.
