Crisis Informatics

Crisis Informatics to me = Getting the best information to the most people as quickly as possible.
I am writing this blog not only after the reading, but also with two more weeks of class time.  This means that my definition has more features that we learned during in-class discussion  than the reading alone provided.  Informatics is the study of information.  The reason that this topic relates so close to class is that social media is a platform for sending messages. In other words, studying social media is like study the delivery of informatics.  In a crisis, information is imperative at the before, during, and after stages.  The before stage deals with precautionary information.  For example, informatics of before a crisis deals with warning people who live on a coast line that they are predisposed to disastrous storms.  Something we analyzed in class was how people are alerted prior to crises.  This is where public information officers come in.  It is there job to study crisis informatics so they will know the fastest way to get the best information to the most people. In Amanda's class discussion I was in the group that focused on Hurricane Katrina.  In this group exercise we acted as if we were PIOs responding to the oncoming hurricane and it was our job to deliver that message to New Orleans.  The reason I point out this exercise is that this was the first time I really understood the magnitude of a PIOs job.  While talking about Katrina we discussed how word of mouth is a useful method of spreading information because the culture of New Orleans is tight-knit and neighborly.  The point is, all the previous examples were verbal informatics, but word of mouth is a non-text way to verbally communicate messages.
All of the previous informatics have been about spreading information verbally, whether orally or through text.  The current trend of displaying information is going visual.  There are many benefits to visual data rather than verbal data.  Visual data such as graphs, charts, and maps are easier for the common person to consume.  I mean this in a few ways.  Not only is it faster for somebody to view something than read something, but the use of visual data breaks all language barriers that could arise with verbal information.  A good example of this that we have been discussing all semester is mash-up mapping.  By annotating maps common people can fathom a larger amount of data much more quickly than if they were to try and write the information.  The key to informatics is balance.  In some cases verbal data is better, in some cases visual data is better.  Sometimes you need a map and sometimes you need a press release.  This is why it is important to broadly study all aspects of informatics and attempt to utilize all forms of delivering messages