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The Signals and Noise: Actionable Information in Improvised Social Media Channels During a Disaster

Authors:

Salma El Idrissi,

Yu-Ru LinAuthors Info & Claims

WebSci '17: Proceedings of the 2017 ACM on Web Science Conference

Pages 33 - 42

https://doi.org/10.1145/3091478.3091501

Published: 25 June 2017 Publication History

Abstract

Web-based social and communication technologies enable citizens to self-organize relief efforts in response to crises. This work focuses on a question fundamental to the concept of collective intelligence: how effective are such self-organized channels, ungoverned by any central authority, in conforming to their intended function? In this study we examine the hashtag #PorteOuverte ("#OpenDoor") introduced during the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks, as an "improvised logistical channel" (ILC) to help individuals to find a safe shelter near the attack sites. We analyze the dynamics and effectiveness of #PorteOuverte by comparing its proportion of relevant logistical messages - individuals requesting or offering shelter - to other messages such as those offering emotional consolation or commenting on the hashtag itself. Our results reveal that the vast majority of messages are not relevant, however the crowd senses and spreads relevant messages more than others. We further demonstrate that relevant messages can be automatically detected and thus algorithmic promotion may be possible.

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Cited By

Panakkal PPadgett J(2024)More eyes on the road: Sensing flooded roads by fusing real-time observations from public data sourcesReliability Engineering & System Safety10.1016/j.ress.2024.110368251(110368)Online publication date: Nov-2024
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ress.2024.110368
Hajihashemi VGharahbagh AFerreira MMachado JTavares J(2024)Deep Learning Approaches for Socially Contextualized Acoustic Event Detection in Social Media PostsGood Practices and New Perspectives in Information Systems and Technologies10.1007/978-3-031-60328-0_35(347-358)Online publication date: 16-May-2024
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-60328-0_35
Panakkal PFattoracci EPadgett JKing DYoo T(2023)Sensing Flooded Roads to Support Roadway Mobility during Flooding: A Web-Based Tool and Insights from Needs Assessment InterviewsNatural Hazards Review10.1061/NHREFO.NHENG-175324:4Online publication date: Nov-2023
https://doi.org/10.1061/NHREFO.NHENG-1753
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Index Terms

The Signals and Noise: Actionable Information in Improvised Social Media Channels During a Disaster
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Collaborative and social computing
    1. Collaborative and social computing theory, concepts and paradigms
      1. Collaborative content creation
      2. Social content sharing
    2. Empirical studies in collaborative and social computing
2. Information systems
  1. Information retrieval
    1. Specialized information retrieval
      1. Environment-specific retrieval
        Web and social media search
  2. Information systems applications
    1. Collaborative and social computing systems and tools

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Published In

cover image ACM Conferences

WebSci '17: Proceedings of the 2017 ACM on Web Science Conference

June 2017

438 pages

ISBN:9781450348966

DOI:10.1145/3091478

Conference Chairs:
Peter Fox
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA
,
Deborah McGuinness
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA
,
Lindsay Poirer
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA
,
Program Chairs:
Paolo Boldi
Universita degli Studi di Milano, Italy
,
Katharina Kinder-Kurlanda
GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Germany

Copyright © 2017 ACM.

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SIGWEB: ACM Special Interest Group on Hypertext, Hypermedia, and Web

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Published: 25 June 2017

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WebSci '17: ACM Web Science Conference

June 25 - 28, 2017

New York, Troy, USA

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WebSci '17 Paper Acceptance Rate 30 of 85 submissions, 35%;

Overall Acceptance Rate 245 of 933 submissions, 26%

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Cited By

Panakkal PPadgett J(2024)More eyes on the road: Sensing flooded roads by fusing real-time observations from public data sourcesReliability Engineering & System Safety10.1016/j.ress.2024.110368251(110368)Online publication date: Nov-2024
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ress.2024.110368
Hajihashemi VGharahbagh AFerreira MMachado JTavares J(2024)Deep Learning Approaches for Socially Contextualized Acoustic Event Detection in Social Media PostsGood Practices and New Perspectives in Information Systems and Technologies10.1007/978-3-031-60328-0_35(347-358)Online publication date: 16-May-2024
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-60328-0_35
Panakkal PFattoracci EPadgett JKing DYoo T(2023)Sensing Flooded Roads to Support Roadway Mobility during Flooding: A Web-Based Tool and Insights from Needs Assessment InterviewsNatural Hazards Review10.1061/NHREFO.NHENG-175324:4Online publication date: Nov-2023
https://doi.org/10.1061/NHREFO.NHENG-1753
Panakkal PWyderka APadgett JBedient P(2023)Safer this way: Identifying flooded roads for facilitating mobility during floodsJournal of Hydrology10.1016/j.jhydrol.2023.130100625(130100)Online publication date: Oct-2023
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2023.130100
Donner WRodriguez HBrotzge JDiaz WDonner WRodriguez HBrotzge JDiaz W(2022)Emerging Interdisciplinary Themes: Social MediaSevere Weather Warnings: An Interdisciplinary Approach10.1007/978-3-031-05031-2_8(189-199)Online publication date: 25-Aug-2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05031-2_8
Kruspe AKersten JKlan F(2021)Review article: Detection of actionable tweets in crisis eventsNatural Hazards and Earth System Sciences10.5194/nhess-21-1825-202121:6(1825-1845)Online publication date: 15-Jun-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-1825-2021
Dwarakanath LKamsin ARasheed RAnandhan AShuib L(2021)Automated Machine Learning Approaches for Emergency Response and Coordination via Social Media in the Aftermath of a Disaster: A ReviewIEEE Access10.1109/ACCESS.2021.30748199(68917-68931)Online publication date: 2021
https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3074819
Herrera LMajchrzak TThapa D(2021)Ecosystem of Social Media Listening Practices for Crisis ManagementResponsible AI and Analytics for an Ethical and Inclusive Digitized Society10.1007/978-3-030-85447-8_59(710-722)Online publication date: 25-Aug-2021
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85447-8_59
Kejriwal MZhou P(2021)Visual Exploration and Debugging of Machine Learning Classification over Social Media DataBig Data and Social Media Analytics10.1007/978-3-030-67044-3_8(153-166)Online publication date: 19-Jan-2021
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67044-3_8
Wei KLin YYan M(2020)Examining Protest as An Intervention to Reduce Online Prejudice: A Case Study of Prejudice Against ImmigrantsProceedings of The Web Conference 202010.1145/3366423.3380307(2443-2454)Online publication date: 20-Apr-2020
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3366423.3380307
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