Social media has become a popular way for friends and family to stay connected. But there are also many ways to use these tools for ways that you may not have expected. Businesses and individuals are using these online tools to benefit their lives in many ways.
Predicting the Future
Social media is allowing some companies to predict the future in many ways. In natural disasters like wildfires, information from several social media sites can be aggregated or ‘crowdsourced’ and presented to those working on the front lines to give an overall picture of the situation.
For example, tweets and photos can be followed to determine which routes residents are using to avoid the path of wildfires or evacuate an area. One company called Gnip used this technique using geo-tagged tweets and images uploaded to Flickr, and then layered them onto a Google map of the area. This also provided a way for emergency workers to see where more resources were needed to respond to the needs of the local community.
Crime Reporting
In Mexico, Twitter is used by citizens to report criminal activity. Using social media in this way is the norm for this country. When people subscribe to a news service Twitter account, they can receive up-to-the-minute news about what may be going on near them. The result is a free public service that anyone, anywhere can access, and is based on a scientific finding that people are more likely to tweet about something negative than something positive.
Health
The H1N1 influenza A pandemic became a significant cause of concern for many Americans. And it was discovered that Twitter posts can be monitored for those with flu-like systems, enabling health practitioners to be prepared even before conventional surveillance systems provide them with information.
In Haiti, where a 2010 cholera outbreak threatened millions of people, it was later discovered that Twitter could have been used to predict the outbreak. A research fellow at HealthMap stated that this type of information was available online via Twitter up to two weeks prior to the government issuing a formal report, and could have been used to provide early insight to medical and emergency personnel.
Wait Times
Crowdsourcing can also be used to find out how long you can expect to wait at an airport for your flight to depart or arrive. This can be done by anyone who logs into Twitter, searching for tweets that mention an airport’s name, and then replying to those posters with an enquiry about how long they’ve been waiting. This same technique can also be used for wait times at popular restaurants or at movie theaters where a special showing is playing.
News
A new trend is taking over the journalism world. Some are using social media as their only source for news information and then writing their story based on that information. A USA Today technology writer did just that, beginning by asking the Twitter public for their reactions to an idea. He received tweets from both the general public and several CEOs.
Fundraising
Some organizations are using sites like Twitter and Facebook to raise funds for their causes. In tweeting about a fundraising effort, replies can come from other organizations and businesses. An interesting promotion angle that also helps spread the message about a particular disease or social cause is for a donating company to pledge a certain amount of money for every post, tweet or status update that contains the particular hash tag.
The next time someone you know bemoans the perceived uselessness of social media, perhaps noting some of the above ways in which it’s being used will help them to better understand how this tool can benefit them.