Title: An online social network for emergency management

Authors: Connie White, Linda Plotnick, Jane Kushma, Starr Roxanne Hiltz, Murray Turoff

Addresses: Institute for Emergency Preparedness, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama, USA. ' Math, Computing and Information Sciences Department, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama, USA. ' Institute for Emergency Preparedness, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama, USA. ' Information Systems Department, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey, USA. ' Information Systems Department, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey, USA

Abstract: Online Social Networking Sites (SNSs) are becoming extremely popular and can be employed in a variety of contexts. They permit the establishment of global relationships that are domain related or can be based on some need shared by the participants. Emergency domain-related websites, each with their own stated mission, are becoming widespread. Can a social network offer a solution to bringing emergency domain-related entities together as a |one-stop shop|? We propose to investigate whether the social network paradigm can be used to enable individuals and organisations to collaborate in mutually beneficial ways, in all stages of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. Emergency management students were surveyed to examine the concept of social networks and their acceptance as a potential tool. The results of this exploratory research show overwhelming agreement that SNSs should be considered a viable solution to the problems plaguing information dissemination and communications in the emergency domain.

Keywords: social networks; emergency management; collaboration; collective intelligence; online communities; virtual communities; web based communities; online social networking sites; communications; information dissemination; information sharing; emergency mitigation; emergency preparedness; emergency response; emergency recovery; crisis management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEM.2009.031572

International Journal of Emergency Management, 2009 Vol.6 No.3/4, pp.369 - 382

Published online: 11 Feb 2010 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article