TWEETING FOR GOOD
How the Red Cross is Leveraging the Power of Social Media for Disaster Outreach & Response
I recently had a unique chance to let my inner marketing geek shine during a volunteer-led behind-the-scenes tour of the American Red Cross Dallas Fort-Worth’s Digital Operations Center (DigiDOC). This social media command center allows them to monitor social conversations before and during disasters to help anticipate disaster needs and connect more people with resources during an emergency. The Center was developed via a partnership with Dell Computers and is powered by Radian6, a SalesForce software that has been described as “Hootsuite on steroids,” that is used by more than half of Fortune 100 companies to monitor, analyze, and engage in social media conversations. The American Red Cross in Dallas Fort-Worth is the first chapter location to receive this technology outside of their national headquarters in Washington, D.C. They are the largest Red Cross chapter region in the United States.
I had no idea that the Red Cross was 97% volunteer-led and was very impressed by the commitment, professionalism, and passion of their volunteers. It was eye-opening and inspiring to learn about how social media as a tool can help accelerate and expand their reach and reduce response time in emergency communications and disaster response situations. American Red Cross Dallas Fort-Worth Digital Communications Manager, Amy Yen said that often they find themselves encouraging people to take immediate shelter due to tornado warning, or just being a supportive voice if they are displaced or missing a loved one. By monitoring Twitter, they have also been able to identify disaster-struck areas that were not reported and send immediate assistance. Amy is super passionate about the work and her team of digital volunteers and shared, “Sometimes I have to stay up all night watching the weather. But if I can help even one person know what to do in a tornado, it’s all worth it.”
According to a University of San Francisco survey, more than 70 percent of people in disaster situations use social media to let their families and friends know that they are OK. Social media monitoring and emergency communications are services that are increasingly in demand due to extreme weather patterns, so I am guessing that Twitter will continue to be a very important source of information for humanitarian organizations around the world. FEMA recently developed a smart phone app that maps open shelters, provides emergency meeting location information, and allows people to take and submit GPS photo reports of disasters to be displayed on a public map for others to view.
Twitter as a platform has the potential to aggregate data and information for social good in many meaningful ways! Join us on our Facebook page to chat about ways Twitter can change the world. And also be sure to check out the Red Cross Dallas Fort-Worth and their DigiDOC resources via @RedCrossDFW #SMEM #digiDFW.
Want to become a Red Cross digital volunteer? Give them a call at 214.678.4800.
Infographic via USF’s Online MPA and thanks to an awesome article by MediaBistro.com
