AtHoc IWSAlerts - Social Network Integration

Social Networks are fast becoming a part of the fundamental fabric of how people communicate. They have undergone explosive growth during the last several years. Facebook now has over 400 million registered users. Twitter is reporting average of 50 million “tweets” per day. These examples provide a format to communicate timely information with millions of individuals in a matter of minutes and is supported by servers and systems usually not in harms’ way of the event.

Penetration and adoption in areas such as higher education and recently the Department of Defense demand that they be incorporated in any mass notification and emergency communication system.

By integrating social networks into a mass emergency notification system, administrators can make use of redundant channels that strengthen continuity of communication during an emergency.

Key Benefits

Incorporating social networks into a mass emergency notification plan delivers many advantages:

• Large social networks can support user bases of approximately 250 million individuals on a daily basis
• Bandwidth and system reliability via social networks is high and thus critical in times of crisis
• Immediate notification through other mediums to large populations within short timeframes from the same local areas (surges) have caused system failures
• Incorporating social networking capabilities into a mass emergency response strategy adds a strong additional layer of communication redundancy
• Users of social networks are extremely familiar with these channels - thereby avoiding a learning curve that could impede an emergency communication

Social Networks Have Proven Value as Alerting Channels in Real World Situations

Recent disasters and tragic events have illustrated the success of social networking sites in effectively disseminating emergency information and strengthening an overall emergency notification strategy. Some of these events include:

• Ft. Hood Shootings – 2009
  • US Army leverages Twitter to update local news outlets, military members, and concerned citizens
  • The after-action report revealed that no alerting system was used – all communications were facilitated using social networks
  • The after-action report specifically cited the need to exploit social networks for reaching all personnel, including family members and dependents, during an emergency
• Chilean Earthquake – 2010
  • Regional infrastructure was destroyed. Residents with wireless air cards communicated by posting updates to social networking websites

How AtHoc IWSAlerts Leverages the Power of Social Networks:

• Incorporates open architecture design, providing for simple interfacing with existing social networks that are already used by millions of people.
• Broadcasts focused and select information to designated Social Network outlets and has the ability to disseminate information in an automated fashion and in real time.
• Monitors selected social network feeds to intelligently identify events that may be relevant to the community or the organization, for example – the local Fire Department Twitter feed or the CDC Facebook profile for emergency information.
• Compatible with spam filters or other preventative obstacles – AtHoc IWSAlerts messaging is propagating as a fully trusted source of information.
• Leverages disparate resources that may already be used by organizations - unifying multiple systems via single activation in a secure, authenticated and consistent manner.
• Can reach extended alert targets such as family members of the direct audience (students, military personnel).