It’s a good thing that social media is up and operating around the world because it is the best way to get the word out about swine flu.
The federal government is jumping into action, using social media to get the word out and regular updates on their web pages to make sure the public is given the best and most accurate information available.
Right now, on April 30, there are at least 109 confirmed swine flu cases in the United States. There are fears and predictions that the number is going higher.
And it’s a good thing that the town crier these days is the Internet which can spread the word around in a nanosecond, not weeks or months.
Judi
Judi,
Good Post. Many wiki and blog sites for swine flu are up and running because of bird flu. What is better than a plan? – a working model. While the news may tell people about things they did not know, wikis and blogs help people find answers.
Here Social media needs infrastructure to work. If the internet or the servers are down – so is social media.
Today on HHS webcast they got 1,500 questions – more than they could handle. Twitter held up well.
If you look at the graph – swine flu has hit a platu
http://www.google.com/trends?q=swine+flu%2C+h5n1%2C+money%2C+sex&ctab=0&geo=all&date=mtd&sort=2
The only thing about getting info online is that you’re never totally sure it is accurate; even as facts change almost as gov officials give the latest briefing I can see how it would be even more complicated trying to sort what is correct from online posts…
Having just returned from Guadalajara, Mexico this week (eeriest plane trip since a flight I had to take just after 9/11) , I saw this first hand down there. Everyone there — online and in person — kept saying they “heard” or “read” that the virus originated from a US visitor to Mexico City. I kept telling everyone that I had not heard this on CNN, or anywhere I was reading online so who knows where they were getting their info, but I am sure much of it was online.
Then again, the news in Mexico kept urging anyone who felt ill to go get tested for swine flu — “it’s just a simple nose swab” the Mexican reports would say, and when I called my doctor here upon return to ask if I could get tested he said there is no way to test for that flu… how can that be, I asked, if they are testing in Mexico?
I finally figured out the whole testing situation but always take any online info these days with a grain of salt… extremely useful but I am not surprised if some of it turns out to be false.
Nonetheless, it is amazing HOW MUCH information can be obtained so quickly via social media and there are certain sites / bloggers that I always trust about as much as a recommendation from a friend.
Great analogy about the town crier 🙂