Shannon Smallwood's List: Hurricane Sandy 2012

This week, in Hurricane Sandy’s wake, those of us with Internet access across the country took to social networks to talk about the storm. And talk we did: Facebook and Twitter mentions of “Hurricane Sandy” skyrocketed, and Instagram saw 10 photos uploaded per second during the height of the storm on Monday.

 

Social networks resonated with positive thoughts like “hope everyone is ok” and “stay safe,” as well as the expected joke.

 

But there was one person in particular who managed to steal the #Sandy social spotlight this week, whom the world has come to know as @ComfortablySmug. The hedge fund analyst, whose real name is Shashank Tripathi, decided to use the viral news peg to spread misinformation about the storm, including posts that said the New York Stock Exchange floor was under three feet of water and that Con Edison was shutting all power off in Manhattan.

His motivation for starting the rumors is unclear, but the consequences are. Tripathi resigned from his position with Congress candidate Christopher Wright’s campaign, issued a public apology, and may actually face legal repercussions. According to Buzzfeed, New York City Councilman Peter Vallone has asked the Manhattan District Attorney’s office to investigate the matter – although it’s incredibly unlikely that Tripathi will be charged with anything.

For authorities, news outlets and individuals (many still without power), social media channels seem to be the only choice. For those looking for up-to-the-minute ways to seek and share information about the disasters, it’s clear social media channels are emerging as the best, most accessible tools. Meanwhile, the top status update on Facebook for example, the morning of October 30 was “We are ok,” written by people reassuring their distant friends and relatives.

 

Here are just a few of the ways that authorities and companies are using popular networks like Facebook and Twitter to keep people up to date in the wake of Hurricane Sandy:

cean City officials listened to their citizens and stakeholders and took action. They began by discussing their current communications system. The town already had a system in place that pushed out email alerts; however, administrators felt that a more flexible system was necessary. They wanted the ability to send messages, especially emergency alerts, via multiple channel

s, including text messages or SMS. They knew there was a much more efficient and effective way to communicate emergency and other high priority information to residents.

 

In July 2012, Ocean City selected and implemented a multichannel, integrated digital communication platform: GovDelivery Digital Communication Management (DCM). Residents are now able to sign up for a wide variety of topics such as Jobs, Council updates and City Wide Alerts.

 

The system not only allows Ocean City to send out email and text messages, but it has also helped the town dramatically increase its reach.