With whom to coordinate, why and how in ad-hoc social media communities during crisis response

During crises directly affected people and observers join social media communities to discuss the event. They may share information relevant to response coordination, for example, specific resource needs. However, responders face a massive data overload and lack the time to monitor social media traffic for important and trustworthy information. To address these challenges, response teams may attempt manual filtering methods, resulting in limited coverage and quality. Hence, we propose a computational framework for extracting specific resource-related information, and an interface for identifying and engaging with influential participants in the dynamic, evolving social media community. Our approach helps to identify those virtual responders who serve both as sources and disseminators of important information to assist in coordinated emergency response.