Webinar – Navigating the Changing Communication Landscape: Social Media For Risk and Crisis Communication

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Webinar Description
Over the last 25 years, rapid advancements in the development and proliferation of communications technologies has had a dramatic impact on the ways we obtain, interpret, and respond to information. This is particularly true within the context of risk and crisis communication, which has been profoundly affected by the development of mobile technologies and new media. Social media is one such technology that has (perhaps unexpectedly) influenced all facets of emergency management, particularly preparedness and response. This talk will begin with an introduction to the field of risk and crisis communication, and then will discuss the impact that social media has had on disaster preparedness and response. This talk will outline the strengths of social media for crisis communications, as well as several significant challenges that social media has posed for emergency management. Lastly, this talk will examine several case studies (Hurricane Sandy and 2011 Goderich, Ontario tornado) to set the stage for a deeper discussion about lessons learned and future directions of research and practice.

Presenter: Dr. Amber Silver, Assistant Professor for the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity, University at Albany.

Dr. Silver received her Ph.D. in Geography and Environmental Management from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. Her primary research interests focus on how individuals and groups make decisions before, during, and after high-impact weather. She is interested in the roles that public attention, risk perception, and communication play in protective action decision making during extreme events. Her most recent research has focused on the ways that new technologies, including social media, influence how individuals obtain, interpret, and respond to official and unofficial warning information. Key areas of interest include: the impact of environmental disasters on sense of place and place attachment; the use of social media as a risk and crisis communications tool; and the role of new media in collective sense-making during and after disaster.