How Twitter could save the world, one crisis at a time.

Do you use Twitter? Did you ever think using Twitter could one day get you out of a foreign prison or warn you of a terrorist attack? Or even save your life in the case of a natural disaster? These are just a few of the surprising and potential abilities of the free micro-blogging site.

This entry is a summary of research done during the Spring of 2010. This research included examining the abilities of Twitter. First, to critique the potential of fostering a new Public Sphere. Second, the capabilities of Twitter as a crisis communication tool.

Twitter Background:

• Born from Odeo - Podcasting

Creators: Noah Glass, Evan Williams
Over 60 million users - Free
140 Character Limit
Instant Updates to Account, Email, Phone, etc.

• Other Important Capabilities:

“Re-tweet”, Follow other Users “Feeds”
Most “Tweeted”, Suggested Feeds

Noah Glass and Evan Williams

“The fundamental idea is that Twitter lets people share moments of their lives, whenever they want, be they momentous occasions or mundane ones. It’s by sharing these moments as they’re happening that lets people feel more connected and in touch, despite distance… this is the primary use we saw of Twitter from the beginning, and what got us excited” - Evan Williams
Source: Source: Piskorski, M., Chen, D., & Hell, B. (2010). Twitter. Harvard Business School. pg. 22. Retrieved March 21, 2010, from http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/710455-PDF-ENG

• Public Sphere

J Habermas - 1962 A place to for public discourse about politics, daily events and news. Middle class driven - Fewer Gatekeepers, and Opinion Leaders

Not Happening.....for now.. Why?

1. 10% of users post 90% of “Tweets”
2. Limited “Tweets” after first 30 days
3. Mostly “Re-tweet"

Crisis Communication Examples
Emergency Management
California wildfires, Earthquakes China and Haiti, Terrorist Attacks in Dubai, Protests in Iraq

Organizational
Customer Service and Small business growth tool - communicate with customer base

Celebrity and Musicians
Keep fans up to date on shows or different events



Individual
Relay personal emergencies, even when traveling abroad

• Possible Negatives of Twitter Use
  

1. Privacy Concerns - Monitoring of "Tweets" and status could be invasion of privacy
2. Speed vs. Reliability - Information can travel fast on Twitter, but sometimes false, no fact check
3. Lack of original content - Re-Tweet function allows just a few users opinions to spread

• Conclusions

1. Public Sphere - Not yet. Twitter does offer abilities to foster what Habermas would call a public sphere. A place where almost anyone (as long as they have Internet access) can go and deliberate the daily events, including politics, of society. But this will not happen on Twitter till more people are participating in the conversation.
2. Crisis Communication - There is great potential in a tool like Twitter as a Public Relations device and Crisis Management service. It seems we are at just seeing the beginning of the Internet being used in this way, and whether it is Twitter, or another social networking tool that will develop, there are many situations where this type of technology can be advantageous.