It used to be that in the event of a natural disaster, people would tune in their radios. That may still hold true, but a newer form of technology proved a fruitful means of disseminating information after an EF-2 tornado skated across Branson on Feb. 29.
As the morning wore on and little information was available from Branson city staff – they were, undoubtedly, quite busy – we at Springfield Business Journal turned to social media to seek out clues to build an article for SBJ.net.
The hash tag #LeapDayStorm became instantly popular on Twitter, and on Facebook, a Branson tornado information page set up by the University of Missouri Extension office in Greene County gained popularity quickly.
The page’s creator, David Burton, civic communication specialist for the extension, told me the page’s “likes” had jumped from pre-tornado levels of two to 50 overnight. When I took a benchmark of the page at 10:39 a.m. for the article, that figure had shot up to more than 7,000. As of press time, the number of likes for
Facebook.com/BransonTornadoInfo had moved to nearly 17,000.
That kind of Web popularity could take months, even years, to accomplish, but it has only taken this particular page about a week.
It is certainly a commendable effort, and the thousands of people that have used the page would likely agree it has provided invaluable information – everything from damage assessments to business closings to the need for volunteers. Learning from a similar Joplin tornado Facebook page less than a year before, those behind the Branson version seem to be right on top of things.
One of our social media pages,
Youtube.com/SBJOnline, also enjoyed increased visibility due to a video we posted of aerial footage showing Branson damage. Chopper Charter Branson filmed the clip and shared it with our newsroom, leading to more than 13,000 views for the video, the most any of our videos have received.
Burton said the boom of smart phones probably was a big reason social media was leaned on so heavily during the recent storms. “People may only have smart phones in a disaster situation, and they are looking for information resources. Facebook and other social media sites really lend themselves to that type of emergency situation,” he said via e-mail.
With the kind of attention the page was getting, the crew running Branson Tornado Info seem to be employing a line from the first “Spider-Man” film: “With great power comes great responsibility.” Burton said about 10 volunteer administrators have been working around the clock to answer questions and facilitate information for the page’s followers. Burton, along with volunteers who managed the Joplin Facebook page, also built a 16-page document titled “The Use of Social Media for Disaster Recovery.” The guide, available at
Extension.Missouri.edu/Greene, is quite informative, and I would recommend it to anyone just looking to create a successful social media presence, as well.
Though he hopes they won’t be needed, Burton also created tornado information Facebook pages for Greene County, Springfield and Republic in January, along with the Branson page.
It’s telling how clearly the importance of technology shines through during times of tragedy. Many people use social media on a daily basis. It logically follows that useful information – beyond trivial tidbits about what your friend might currently be doing – also would be available through it. With an increasingly mobile and Web-savvy consumer base, technology likely will continue to evolve communication into the future, through all facets of life, including, unfortunate as they may be, our roughest times.
Springfield Business Journal Web Editor Geoff Pickle can be reached at gpickle@sbj.net.[[In-content Ad]]
