From push brooms to prayer books: Social media and social networks during the London riots

Glasgow, Kimberly; Fink, Clayton

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/38382 Copy

Description

Title

From push brooms to prayer books: Social media and social networks during the London riots

Author(s)

• Glasgow, Kimberly
• Fink, Clayton

Issue Date

2013-02

Keyword(s)

• Online social networks
• Social media
• Twitter--Social aspects
• Crisis response
• Crisis informatics
• Information behavior
• Research methods
• Social and community informatics
• Emergency response
• Informatics
• Emergency communication systems

Abstract

Social media, such as microblogging, is a powerful medium for sharing information and organizing response in times of crisis or extreme events. We propose methods to integrate topical and social information and behavior derived from social media to improve situational understanding during an extreme event. Using Twitter data from the 2011 London riots, we analyze emergent social networks directly relating to response to crisis. We construct social networks from these tweets based on talking to (directed communication), quoting (retweeting), and talking about (mentioning) behaviors. We examine networks of riot response oriented around cleanup or prayer activities. These networks differ in size, structure, and membership. We identify prominent network actors and assess their similarity. These methods may enable more effective response during disasters or other emergency events.

Publisher

iSchools

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/38382

DOI

https://doi.org/10.9776/13167

Copyright and License Information

Copyright © 2013 is held by the authors.Copyright permissions, when appropriate, must be obtained directly from the authors.

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