Using Twitter: Creating Accounts for Emergency Management and Public Health Organizations

Internet-based applications known as “social media” enable people to interact and share information through media that were non-existent or widely unavailable 15 years ago. Social media sites rank as the fourth most popular source to access emergency information. Social media applications such as Twitter and Facebook were vital tools to share information during the Japan earthquake in 2011. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has recently released reports that encourage emergency management officials to use social media as a pathway to disseminate messages, create two-way information exchanges, and understand and follow up on communication that is happening within the community.