Date: February 19th, 2011
Location: San Antonio, TX
Topic: Social Media in Disaster Response
Description: Social media tools allow for people to connect: broadcasting messages to real time communication, online networking to offline collaboration. Tools like mobile text/sms, facebook, twitter, and even Wikipedia have permeated the global community and in times of crisis are natural outlets for updates, news, and even cries for help. This session explores some of the ways individuals and organizations have used social media in crisis situations, like the earthquake in Haiti, and how various tools and platforms have developed to match the specific needs of rescue or service efforts.