From Nextgov.com: FEMA chief taps social media's potential for aiding disaster response
‘Two-way conversation’ with the public pursued through designing communication systems for easy access by online masses.
A cell phone starts shaking on a coffee table in California, instantly triggering an application that alerts the phone's owner to drop to the ground, take cover under a sturdy piece of furniture and hold on until the earthquake stops.
The resident sends a text message through the social media site Twitter, saying, "Quake.Trapped.555CreekSt90210." Soon after the magnitude 7 quake strikes, emergency responders locate and free the victim, and Craig Fugate, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, already has started mobilizing to rush in electrical power, food and shelter.
This is the not-too-distant future for Fugate, who has seen cell phones equipped with accelerometers that measure vibration, he said. Under the alias "@CraigatFEMA," he currently searches the Twittersphere regularly for signs of state, local and national emergencies.
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