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Boston Globe article: tech-savvy citizen first responders
By WDavidStephenson | August 6, 2007
Hiawatha Bray of the Boston Globe (and Monitortan) has been checking in with me on and off since the Virginia Tech massacre about a possible article on my favorite theme: how mobile personal communication devices can empower the public to play a substantive role in emergency communications.
The Minneapolis tragedy finally provided the news peg for Bray’s article on the phenomenon, and I think he gives a pretty good overview of the issue. Here’s the essence of the argument:
“It’s (referring to I-35W) the most recent example of a transformation in the way we think about disasters. The term ‘first-responder’ officially means the police, fire, and rescue workers who come to the aid of victims. But the digital age has given rise to a new kind of first-responder — ordinary citizens with cellphones, computers, and Internet access. These people leap into action without being asked. They shoot snapshots and video of ongoing disasters. And they set up instant social networks that provide vital information to the public, the news media, and even the government.”
Yes!
Bray led with the request from the National Transportation Safety Board for individuals who were taking pictures or videos at the time of the collapse to submit them as part of the search for an explanation. According to NTSB spokesman Ted Loptkiewicz, “People are taking pictures at all times now.” Right you are Ted, and this is yet another example of how individuals, armed with camera phones, etc., can provide critical location-based, real-time information, simply because they’re on the scene.
Bray quoted me with both a warning to officials about loss of control of the flow of information, and the lure of benefits that can off set it:
W. David Stephenson, principal of Stephenson Strategies, a Medfield emergency management consultancy, said emergency workers won’t be able to stop civilians from trying to help. ‘You’ve already lost control,’ said Stephenson. ‘You’d better get used to it.’
Better yet, said Stephenson, government officials should make technology-aided citizen response a key component of their disaster plans.”
The article included several of the usual suspects to whom I’d steered Bray: Art Botterell, SquareLoop, Bill Ader’s DCERN, Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed 911 photo attachment project, and Eric Knight’s National SOS Radio Network.
It also included two developments I wasn’t aware of:
Frontline Wireless’ proposed win-win G4 spectrum strategy (on the company’s web site, it says its mission is to … leverage private sector investment to yield public safety benefits. Frontline’s plan will offer first responders more spectrum for broadband communications and free buildout of a nationwide, interoperable network. Our proposal will give wireless consumers new freedom in the devices and applications they can use on a 4G network. This opportunity to advance solutions for public safety, competition and innovation represents a once-in-a-generation chance to unlock the value of spectrum that meets critical needs.” That’s cool (and possibly closer to reality because of the FCC’s 700 MHz decision last week). Similar to what Mayor Bloomberg proposes, it would let people at a disaster site send video & still photos directly to the 911 center while simultaneously talking on their cameraphones (Aylus Networks, the company I met with last week, has created the technology that would allow this kind of simultaneous video-sharing/talk.- Safe and Well, which Steve Cooper launched when he was CIO at the Red Cross as a unified place for people who either want to notify family and friends that they’re OK after a crisis, or who are looking for someone, to register (as an alternative to the wide range of ad hoc listings that crop up after every disaster now through wikis, blogs, etc.). More than 500 registered at Safe and Well after the bridge collapse.Of course, as I blogged the other day, a quicker, more direct, and band-width conserving way to accomplish the same goal is to register your entire family with Dodgeball.com, and send a single text message that will blast to your entire list.
All in all, a nice, comprehensive piece substantiating my argument that citizen first responders are a reality and that officials need to alter their strategies to capitalize on this new source of information.
Technorati tags:
homeland security Frontline Wireless antiterrorism e-democracy crowd-sourcing smart mobs swarm intelligence emergent behavior networked homeland security government IT collaboration location-based services geo-spatial web web 2.0 homeland security 2.0 disaster management 2.0 disaster management Aylus Networks National SOS Radio Network Art Botterell DCERN SquareLoop I-35 W disaster planning disaster planning 2.0 bridge collapse
Topics: empowering public, technology, policy and politics, collaboration, e-gov transformation, networked security | |
