A turning point in the integration of SM

The Japanese disaster perhaps marks a general acceptance of social media as emergency management tools that go beyond emergency information.

Amplify’d from www.usatoday.com

Japan crisis showcases social media's muscle

Nine days after Japan's catastrophic earthquake, two urgent pleas for help appeared on the Twitter stream of U.S. Ambassador John Roos:

"Kameda hospital in Chiba needs to transfer 80 patients from Kyoritsu hospital in Iwaki city, just outside of 30km(sic) range."

"Some of them are seriously ill and they need air transport. If US military can help, pls contact (name withheld) at Kameda."

The back-to-back tweets lit up Roos' mobile phone at 4 p.m. local time. Each was tagged with @AmbassadorRoos, his Twitter address, instantly sending a digital SOS to the top U.S. diplomat in Japan. A year ago, before Roos opened his Twitter account, getting his attention in such a direct, immediate way would not have been possible. Read more at www.usatoday.com

 

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