The Social
Wildfire
TAKE ACTION
BE BETTER INFORMED
WHY USE SOCIAL MEDIA?
In today’s society, a shift has occurred in the way people receive and disseminate their news. People start to obtain updated news in real-time through social media such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and various other platforms. When other forms of communication are cut off due to a wildfire, social media still works and is readily accessible. Social media benefits before, during and after the wildfire. Before a wildfire, government and local officials use social media to create public Emergency Preparedness pages where community members can follow the page to see the latest community news and updates. During the wildfire, people upload vedio and photo of the disaster happening right before their eyes to inform people to stay away from the places. After a wildfire, social media is used to find missing people, track their personal belongings, and so on.
​
Social media uses the internet which enabled the sharing of messages and events at the speed of light. It gave everyone the same opportunity to spread the information. It’s become more than a communication tool which involves us deeply in all other lives.
What:
Twitter’s trending page is a compilation of the most popular tags and relevant content. By browsing the trending page users are able to consume a top level overview of what is happening relative to a specific topic.
​
Why:
Using Twitter to discover the most recent updates during a wildfire is extremely beneficial because you are able to hear about breaking news sooner than when you traditionally would, like on the news. Twitter allows for you to hear from verified accounts and local news stations the second they post about it.
​
This could be the difference between life and death in a wildfire. Hearing about evacuations and air quality updates sooner allow for more time to prepare and ultimately ensure higher survival rates. Using Twitter as a source for news allows for users to get important content sooner.
​
How:
Navigate to Twitter's webpage or app and use the search bar to discover accounts and tweets relevant to wildfire safety. From your search you will be able to follow helpful accounts and even turn on tweet notifications so you will be notified every time that account tweets. The trending page can also be used to discover important tweets and content matter relevant to events happening near you, like a wildfire.
What:
Safety check is a feature Facebook launched in February of 2017 following multiple nation and world wide crisis. The goal of the feature is to allow users to share with their friends that they are safe during any national ciris.
​
Why:
By using Facebook's safety check users are able share with family and friends that they are in-fact safe during a wildfire, and in return users can also know if their friends are safe too.
​
During a wildfire safety check can be helpful to give the peace of mind of knowing that ones you love are safe.
​
How:
Navigate to Facebook's crisis response and choose a specific crisis. From there a list of your friends who have marked themselves safe from that specific crisis will be listed and if applicable you can also mark yourself safe.
