After interviewing KPBS about their Twitter activity during the San Diego fires, I was curious to hear from individuals who actually used the Twitter stream for updates. In addition to my posting here, I posted a few questions on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk about how people found and used the Twitter stream. The questions and a summary of the responses from 5 individuals are provided below (1 female, ages 18-30s). Respondents lived in Pacific Beach, Carmel Valley, Marina Park, Miramar, and downtown San Diego. Obviously this is a very small sample, but it provides a snapshot of the way Twitter was actually used during the San Diego fires. Overall, the response was very positive. Furthermore, KPBS did very little to advertise the fact that they were using Twitter, and they nevertheless ended up with 1000+ (official) followers.
1 ) How did you first hear that KPBS was using Twitter for updates?
Two people heard about the KPBS Twitter stream through word of mouth. The other three read about it online (in a forum, on the Union Tribune website). Additionally, one saw a report about it on the news.
2 ) During that week, when did you first hear about it?
Most heard about it early in the week of the fires (which began on a Sunday). 4 people had heard by Tuesday (day 3); one as late as Wednesday.
3 ) How did you access/read the feed? (home computer, cell phone, etc?)
Everyone reported using their personal computers at home. One also checked on his computer at work; one also used his cell phone.
4 ) How often did you use the feed?
Three people reported checking the feed twice a day; two said they checked multiple times a day.
5 ) Did you use any other sources for getting news at the same time?
People listed: local TV news stations, CNN, newspapers, radio, friends, and the Internet (including signonsandiego.com)
6 ) What was your overall impression of the Twitter feed?
Everyone reported finding it useful and informative. One suggested it could “be refined a little and be easier to navigate”; another one said it “could use faster updating.”
7 ) Was there anything that KPBS could have done differently to help you get important updates?
Three people had no suggestions. One suggested that “videos and interviews with rescue personnel” would have been nice. Another thought that fire locations and evacuations could have been updated faster.
8 ) What kinds of updates did you care most about during the fires? (e.g., evacuation orders, road closures, shelters opening up, etc.?)
Everyone listed evacuation orders. Two people were also interested in road closures. One cared about casualties, and another about lost structures and air conditions.
