Social Media: Tweeting our National Security

Immediately following the devastating Haiti earthquake in early 2010, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spearheaded an initiative to increase situational awareness regarding response, recovery, and rebuilding efforts. DHS’ Social Media Disaster Monitoring Initiative continuously monitored social media sites to gather, record, analyze, and disseminate relevant information to federal, state, local, and foreign authorities, and was successful in accurately relaying information to decision-makers in a timely fashion. This is just one example of how social media is transforming the way DHS and the Government are communicating critical information to stakeholders.

The March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan further demonstrated the importance of social media as a disaster response tool. Immediately following the devastating events, Twitter was the only functioning communication tool available to survivors, who used the social networking site to find out about relief and recovery efforts. Friends and family also used Twitter to determine the well-being of their loved ones.

Each day, more and more people are using social media to connect and share ideas and information on every topic imaginable. DHS and other agencies are embracing this as a legitimate way to reach millions of people almost instantaneously. It is not only convenient for users, but also plays an important role in our nation’s security.

In addition to the tragedies in Haiti and Japan, Web 2.0, Twitter, Facebook, podcasts, blogs, and other social media proved to be successful sources of information during incidents such as the shootings at Virginia Tech and the 2007 Southern California Wildfires. Social media helps response agencies stay abreast of fast-moving events and disaster response efforts. Meanwhile, the two-way communication feature enables DHS to receive information that helps inform proper responses.

Several DHS component agencies have also begun using social media to meet key communications challenges. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently released a smart phone application that provides users with an organized and simple way to check flight status and airport security policies. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently launched a new website with interactive features such as links to Twitter, RSS news feeds, and ICE video casts. In addition, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) uses social media to inform local communities on emergency preparedness and provide bilingual disaster assistance information, including a new mobile preparedness website.

Social media is rapidly becoming a mainstream tool to gather real-time information about events and communicate time-sensitive information to stakeholders. DHS must continue to capitalize on the benefits of social media. Facebook, for example, is one of the largest and most well known social media platforms, but just two DHS component agencies benefit from its use. Considering Facebook’s expanded user base, all component agencies should be using it to connect with targeted audiences for strategic mission purposes. As the population of social media users continues to grow exponentially, we can expect to see a broader and more targeted use of social media to support the homeland security mission.

Learn more about DHS’ use of social media.