Boston blasts show two sides of social media
Twitter users reacted fast to the explosions that ripped
through the Boston Marathon Monday, but the incident also revealed how social
media can only be so reliable in such situations.
Twitter spread news of the blasts quickly and was a
useful communications tool for public authorities such as the Boston police and
the marathon organizers. But information on social media sites can also be
questionable or just plain inaccurate, noted Greg Sterling, senior analyst with
Opus Research.
"It cuts both ways," Sterling said. "It
allows you to get the information out more quickly, but it can also fan
hysteria."
Two bombs exploded within 100 yards of each other near
the marathon finish line on Monday afternoon. Police say two people were killed
and dozens more injured. They have no suspects yet, and President Barack Obama
has said it's not known yet if terrorists were involved.
The Boston Police Department's Twitter log showed a
positive side of social media. It was updated minute by minute in the aftermath
of the bombings, often with instructions about which areas to avoid, or
information about where the most police officers might be stationed.
There was also misinformation, however. A report was
circulated quickly on Twitter that police had shut down cellphone service in
Boston to prevent detonation of further blasts, though it ultimately turned out
to be inaccurate, according to network operators.
Others had nefarious intentions. At one point, a Twitter
account with the handle @_BostonMarathon was promising to donate US$1 to
victims of the blast for every one of its tweets that was retweeted. Users soon
called it out as a fake, noting the real Twitter account for the Boston
Marathon was @BostonMarathon.
That type of self-correction could be one of social
media's strongest assets, said Karsten Weide, an analyst with IDC. There can be
a lot of false or misleading content, but the nature of the service means that
anyone, regardless of their credentials, can do some fact-checking.
Still, while Twitter is great at disseminating news fast,
some see its value diminishing as time passes after an event. "Twitter
does its best work in the first five minutes after a disaster, and its worst in
the twelve hours after that," said one Twitter user, in a comment that was
widely retweeted.
Twitter carried some graphic images of victims after the
explosions, including blood-soaked sidewalks and people in the streets with
severe injuries. One person urged users to focus on how to help rather than
posting photos of victims.
Determining what's useful information and what crosses
lines of decency or taste may come down to individual judgment, however.
"There aren't really clear etiquette standards for using social media,"
said Sterling.
"As long as the event happens in a public space,
there's no way to stop over-the-top or inappropriate information from getting
out there," Weide said.
For sure, Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites
were a useful source of information for many tracking the events. Google set up
a Person Finder, as it did after the Japan earthquake two years ago, to help
people connect with friends and loved ones after the incident.
Not surprisingly, the hashtag #bostonmarathon spiked
sharply almost immediately after the attacks, said Hashtags.org, and mentions
of "Boston" soared on Facebook, reported analytics company Topsy.
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