Social Media Use in Crisis and Risk Communication. Emergencies, Concerns and Awareness

Den vitenskapelige antologien Social Media Use in Risks and Crises handler om hvordan forskjellige aktører - som krisehåndterere, beredskapspersonell, informatører, journalister og samfunnborgere - har brukt sosiale medier til å kommunisere om risikoer og kriser. Det handler også om hvordan disse aktørene kan spille en avgjørende rolle i å forebygge og redusere kriser. Hvordan kan de bruke sosiale medier til å styrke sin forståelse av kriser når de utfolder seg? Hvordan kan de bruke sosiale medier til å håndtere stress og påkjenninger under og etter kriser? Forskningen i RESCUE-prosjektet, som denne boken bygger på, gir også råd for en mer effektiv bruk av sosiale medier blant sentrale krisekommunikatorer. Gjennom empiriske studier, og ved å trekke på relevant teori, ønsker forfatterne å forbedre krisekommunikatorers forståelse av hvordan sosiale medier har vært brukt - og hvordan de kan anvendes - i ulike typer risikoer og kriser.

The RESCUE (Researching Social Media and Collaborative Software Use in Emergency Situations) project, on which this book is based, has sought to enable a more efficient and appropriate use of social media among key communicators, such as journalists and government actors involved in crisis management. Through empirical studies, and by drawing on relevant theory, the collection aims to improve our understanding of how social media have been used in different types of risks and crises. Building on our empirical work, we provide research-based input into how social media can be used efficiently by different communicators in a way appropriate to the specific crisis and to the concerns of the public. We address our questions by presenting new research-based knowledge on social media use during different crises: the terrorist attacks in Norway on 22 July 2011; the central European floods in Austria in 2013; and the West African Ebola-outbreak in 2014. The social media platforms analysed include the most popular ones in the affected areas at the time of the crises: Twitter and Facebook. By addressing such different cases, the book will move the field of crisis communication in social media beyond individual studies towards providing knowledge which is valid across situations. Crises pose an immediate risk to life, health, property or the environment and require urgent action. The public’s use of social media has important implications for contingency policies and practices. Social media have the potential for risk reduction and preventive interaction with the public. They can provide crisis managers with an understanding of what information people want in emergencies. Potentially, the results and recommendations we publish in this book will help broaden the understanding professionals have of social media crisis communication and, ultimately, reduce the impact on society of future emergencies.