Quantifying the digital traces of Hurricane Sandy on Flickr
Tobias Preis1, Helen Susannah Moat, Steven R Bishop
11] Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Scarman Road, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK [2].
Scientific Reports
|November 6, 2013
Summary
Digital traces from social media reveal user attention to Hurricane Sandy. Photo uploads to Flickr correlated with New Jersey
Area of Science:
- Computational Social Science
- Digital Trace Analysis
- Human Behavior Studies
Background:
- Increasing societal interaction with technology generates vast digital traces.
- These data sources are driving the growth of computational social science.
- Understanding public attention during disasters is crucial for crisis management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate user attention to the Hurricane Sandy disaster using digital data.
- To explore the relationship between online behavior and real-world events.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of publicly shared photographs from Flickr.
- Correlation analysis between photo upload metadata (titles, descriptions, tags) and Hurricane Sandy.
- Comparison of Flickr data with meteorological data (atmospheric pressure in New Jersey).
Main Results:
- A significant correlation was found between the number of Hurricane Sandy-related photos uploaded to Flickr and New Jersey's atmospheric pressure.
- This suggests online attention to the disaster mirrored its meteorological impact.
Conclusions:
- Digital trace data, like Flickr uploads, can serve as a proxy for public attention during crises.
- Leveraging such data can aid policymakers and emergency management agencies.
- Computational social science methods offer novel insights into disaster response and public engagement.
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