Social listening and crowdsourcing in disaster communication: A citizen-centered media and communication consumption perspective

To secure more resilient communities in the future, it is essential to strengthen
the links between all actors. Communication and active engagement are tools to
do so. Based on a case study of communication practices in relation to disasters
and emergencies in a Danish urban setting, this article examines the potential of
applying the principles of crowdsourcing and active social listening to enhance
the links between disaster management organizations and citizens. The case
study is based on a triangulation of expert interviews with representatives from
disaster management organizations, focus groups and surveys with citizens,
as well as a media ethnographic study of interactions and conversations on
local social media. The study finds that some organizations are already applying
principles of crowdsourcing and active social listening, but there is a need to
consider local context and media consumption in order to succeed. The study
shows that though the majority of the residents in the case community are very
digitalized, there are at least two obstacles for digital crowdsourcing and social
listening in this setting: firstly the preferred social media is not suited for digital
crowdsourcing and secondly the residents prefer to communicate through a
variety of other platforms and networks as well, where digital crowdsourcing
and social listening is not possible. Based on those findings, this article discusses
methods to apply in addition to the digital ones to further strengthen the relations
between disaster management organizations and citizens.