15. 7 Feb 2009 - Black Saturday Official Agencies & Emergency Services Slow & Overwhelmed 000 overloaded No alternative sources Rumours & Misinformation Evacuations: too late and misdirected.
16. Community Need Grass roots community reporting Fast, localised, community driven Integration with Official Sources Integrate with agency feeds Inform Emergency Services
17. Bushfire Connect Community Powered Community Resilience Integrate Crowd Sourced and Official Information
20. Where are we now? Since May 2010 ’Live’ site since Feb 2011 (http://bushfireconnect.org) Small team of volunteers (up to 7 people) $2000 cash Next steps (next season) High performance server environment Team of volunteer moderators National Coverage All Hazards
22. ” Emerging and traditional communication tools should be used together to distribute information quickly and accurately Sir Ken Knight, UK Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser ”
23. ” FaceBookwas more useful than government websites and media reports during the cyclone Yasiemergency Dr. Deanne Bird ”
24. ” the only thing that saves people in extreme events is timely and accurate information Mark Crosweller, Commissioner ACT ESA ”
25. ” There is a need for change […] Empower communities with Timely, Relevant and Tailored information Craig Lapsley, VIC FSC ”
This is challenging to the Emergency Services, who have a strong Command & Control Culture,that deals with verified, trusted & accountable information.A process that is slow by necessity
On the other hand: the “Crowd” is radically different:It’s all about citizen reporting: telling a local storyIt’s immediate, self organising, and self correcting
These two, complimentary, ecosystems connect through two bridgesagency to community: broadcasting alerts through social mediaAnd the other way around: harvesting information from the crowd