The 2010 hurricane season, which began this month, is forecast to be a busy one. As relief workers respond to the storms, researchers at Lockheed Martin's Advanced Technology Lab in Cherry Hill will track the situation - not through weather maps and TV reports, but through photos and messages on social-media websites.
The lab is studying posts on tools such as Twitter and YouTube during disasters and political conflicts to answer some basic questions: Who is using them? And how?
The lab is part of a growing field of research on the intersection of disaster relief and ever-evolving social media.
The Office of Naval Research, an agency in the Department of Defense, has given the lab - in partnership with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County - a two-year grant of $1.1 million.
That's not much when it comes to defense money, but Brian Dennis, lead researcher at Lockheed, said the aim was to show the federal government that the field was worth more investment.
Often during disasters, military, aid, and government officials "get together in a big command center, and that centralized element helps them coordinate," Dennis said. But "sometimes they miss things at the very edge that could be going on. . . . Social-media systems are catching some of that."
Using demographic and behavioral data, he hopes to create computerized simulations of how social-media users react during disasters in order to test new tools.
The potential is great for developing uses for media. In political operations, Dennis said, analysis of Twitter and other tools could help the military identify those who hold sway in their communities or learn about corruption that people are afraid to discuss openly in other forums.
In relief work, social media already help track where assistance is most needed and avoid duplication, but that role could be greatly expanded and used to gauge whether aid is working.
The power of social media lies in its populist nature. Anyone with a cell phone or Internet access can publicize his or her location, needs, and opinions.
Twitter, a microblogging tool on which people post their thoughts 140 characters at a time, has been a particular focus of researchers. Nearly everything posted is public.
Twitter has been hailed for giving people the ability to brand their companies, their products, and themselves. Though the military has been wary of the personal use of social media by servicemen and servicewomen, it recognizes the power of the technology.
