Blog Posts tagged with "earthquake"
Social Media...Still a Fad?
Maj. Kristi Beckman is the Chief of Social Media for European Command Public Affairs
Well, if anyone out there still believes that social media is a fad, they should really pay attention to the impact social media has had recently in Haiti.
Twitter dominated the CNN headlines last week after a 7.0 earthquake rocked PORT-AU-PRINCE and absolutely devastated that and other surrounding cities leaving thousands dead, missing and distraught. The first words of this disaster reached the rest of the world through Twitter.
Huffington Post blogger, Air Herzog, reprinted some of the first tweets in his latest blog. One of those tweets was at 4:56 p.m. on the 12th, “oh shiet heavy earth quake right now ! in Haiti.” The news spread fast and Twitter users began tracking the news with the Twitter hashtag #Haiti.
If you’re not familiar with hashtags, they are a way to group a certain subject together so people can search that subject or follow everything about that subject. Right now, the U.S. military is active on Twitter using the hashtag #ushelpshaiti. Many U.S. services are putting their news up there and keeping their followers informed of our part.
But the social media support for Haiti doesn’t just stop with Twitter. There are Facebook pages, MySpace pages, You tube videos, Flickr photos and numerous blogs on the earthquake.
What really makes me smile is the overwhelming support to Haiti that has been dominating the social media scene. Of course you have the random people who put their opinion out there saying we shouldn’t be there and that we’ve already put too much money toward Haiti. But luckily, their comments fall mostly on deaf ears as the overwhelming outpouring of support is tremendous and continues to be strong today through social media channels and the international media scene.
Social media was key to not only spreading the word about finding loved ones after the quake, but also key to generating interest and support for the American Red Cross’ charity text messaging campaign. And so far, more than 10 million dollars has been raised toward relief efforts.
For us, here at U.S. European Command, we have been following our sister combatant command, U.S. Southern Command, as they are leading the U.S. military effort. They have been doing a wonderful job keeping everyone informed and we’ve done what we can to support their communication efforts via their social media channels. They are on Twitter @southcomwatch and on Facebook. You can also follow the latest on their Web site which also links to their social media channels.
In my humble opinion, it’s pretty obvious that not only is social media not a fad like many believe, but it is a proven communication tool when our main communication avenues fail. U.S. European Command will continue to expand our presence in this realm and continue to exercise our communication tactics should a crisis happen in the future in our area of responsibility. We want to be able to continuously connect with the world and inform in a real-time manner and social media is a tried and true form of doing just that.
Let me know your thoughts on the current use of social media now during the Haiti crisis and if you still think social media is a fad.
Comments: 7
Hey Kristi, Well, I think social media is here to stay simply because it is the main way that people communicate with each other on the internet. Events in Iran, Fort Hood and now Haiti have shown the immediacy and real-time"ness" that social media provides. I am a huge supporter of the military using social media to spark real relationships and having two-way talks with people instead of just press releasing people to death. One thing though that has crossed my mind, and I've seen it around the blogosphere too, is that the social media revolution "could" have a temporary detrimental effect on "hard" news reporting. Here's what I mean: With social media and technology, more people (me included) are starting blogs, vlogs, personal web sites, which can lead them to become "citizen journalists." As social media and the internet continue to take viewership away from the "reputable" traditional news sources, the lines between source credibility and factual information start to become blurred. Suddenly everyone is a reporter and giving their slant on an event. So now I get the CNN take, the FOX take, the Kristi Beckman take and the Kris Joseph take, etc.... Technology advancements have basically slapped big media business in the face. Look at the music industry for example. File sharing and MP3s have crippled this billion-dollar enterprise and all of their struggle to keep control with high-priced lawyers could not stop the momentum of technology. Now the music industry makes pennies from CD sales and the artist now only makes money from concert sales and radio play. Myspace and iTunes have become the new music industry giants. This music industry analogy in relation to the news industry is no less alarming. It will soon be the case that news organizations and seasoned journalists and broadcasters will have to compete for control and relevancy amid the growing storm of news blogs and Twitter feeds. I think though that the news orgs realize this and have al
Maj. Beckman, I could not agree more and I think your "humble opinion" is spot on! It is my hope that more DOD traditional media PR/PA practioners and policy makers will soon follow suit. Keep up the great work...you're efforts are inspirational!
Social media played a significant role in Red Cross donations, it's good to see businesses are utilizing the various outlets for Good and not just Gossip. And I couldn't agree with you more, social media is by no means a fad. I think some businesses aren't so willing to implement social media strategy into their marketing tactics because they think it wont last for long. Maybe the sites' popularity will change but social media is here to stay.
You can also follow this Twitter list that includes tweets of the many government agencies providing support to Operation Unified Response: http://twitter.com/NavyNews/haiti-relief . LT Kaye Sweetser Navy Public Affairs
Heather, Thank you for the comment! DOD is slowly coming on board and realizing the importance of this tool to allow us to better communicate like we used to back (way back) in the day :o) We’ve gone back to talking to each other and socializing and it’s so great!
Kaye, Perfect, thanks for keeping us posted on this! We'll be checking this list out and letting all know about it. Appreciate your efforts!
Elizabeth, You got it...here to stay! I, too, have been very excited about the great things as of late that have come out of the social media channels. Sure, we can use them to socialize all day long and I love being able to keep up with friends, collegues and family, but when you use them on such a massive international scale during a crisis for the good of a society...well, that's impact!