Helen
Kate StarbirdIn ~2014, my colleague & I argued that social media (esp. Twitter) had become part of the critical infrastructure of disaster response. People were turning to Twitter during crises to share information about impacts and resources. Disaster responders were using the data shared there for situational awareness, and were communicating in real-time with their constituents. Today’s events underscore just how dangerous it is for society to come to rely on private platforms as critical infrastructure.
In this paper documenting the "work" of communities responding to disaster events, Dharma Dailey and I explain how social media is operating as critical infrastructure, borrowing from Star and Ruhleder's conceptualizations of infrastructure, which notes that we often don't know that we're relying upon infrastructure until it breaks down. https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/2998181.2998290?casa_token=pzel650FuLcAAAAA:qIKePiHWEJGjfD8OLn4_UPQlboUVj0Cq25s0ijGDq92pBUhWDi9edeT2NtQwT-EgSpMm7uNUWwyPpg
Tim Chambers@katestarbird Also Kate, see this: https://indieweb.social/@davidaugust@mastodon.online/110642495490178169
David August (@[email protected])
Attached: 1 image Twitter, once the most powerful real-time information system ever built, so much so someone accidentally live tweeted the death of bin Laden, now not only can’t be used to save lives from bad weather, but won’t even let the existence of bad weather be seen by the weather people.
Björn Ivarsson@katestarbird Is there an open access version of the paper?
Michael Mathy@tchambers @katestarbird but everything is private anyway. For instance, even 911 uses a private network to be reachable.
Or we have to regulate private companies at some points if they have reached a certain level of public service.
Or we have to regulate private companies at some points if they have reached a certain level of public service.
Eric LawtonI was in my early 30s before I used a private telephone network.
Before that, British phones and Alberta phones both public utilities.
Then I moved to Ontario, with Bell.
Then British phones were privatized, then Alberta.
Service didn't get better or cheaper but at least profits were made.
@EricLawton @tchambers @katestarbird
And is it a full private company ?
In Belgium, based on European rules, the main phone company is owned at 50% + 1 share by the Belgian government.
So at least, basic public services are still provided as the emergency phone number.
British Telecom (now just BT) shares were sold off incrementally until it was fully private.
Alberta Government Telephones (AGT) was sold to a holding company, Telus, which also bought the BC public telephone network and now operates across Canada, "competing" in an oligopoly with a few others, giving Canada among the highest cell phone rates in the industrialized world.
Keelan@EricLawton @michaelmathy @tchambers @katestarbird clarification on BC Tel: it was not and was never was a government owned company. In fact it was one of the few Canadian telephone companies that was majority-owned by an American corporation (GTE), because the acquisition predated Canadian regulations on foreign ownership of telecom companies.
ProtectiveHen@EricLawton @michaelmathy @tchambers @katestarbird Thanks for this helpful reminder that the world didn't used to be so neoliberal/libertarian. We CAN go back to expanding governmental utilities!
@michaelmathy @tchambers I think we argued in our original paper that regulation was needed, similar to the telecoms. Let me see if I can find it.
Thanks !
But as we were discussing with @wesley in a separate conversation, the fact that Twitter is used for "critical" public information without an approved SLA is a bad risk assessment if it is their only communication channel.
Tasha@michaelmathy @tchambers @katestarbird
But these "private networks" Phone lines and the like etc are HEAVILY regulated assuring access to all users. AND you don't get fed ads all the time from their algorithm feeding your fears with propaganda because you can use the service
@katestarbird In the DC area we had a serious weather warning for severe storms and where normally I'd look to Capital Weather Gang's Twitter account (the WashPost weather team's main source for breaking weather) now it was fully non-functional.
@tchambers And for folks like me who refuse to log in, it’s essentially useless for real-time information sharing. And that doesn’t even begin to get to the loss of research ability and automated tools to support info sharing about disaster events. In the first case study I worked on, Red River Floods of 2009, people set up automated accounts to tweet the flood heights. Over and over again, we saw innovation to support info sharing enabled by an open platform and API. That’s all gone. :(
@katestarbird Completely feel your pain on each and every point there.
Hoping after today's jolt, more and more services move to have a presence here and on BlueSky, and on whatever Instagram Threads might be - if it really robustly supports decentralization.
Ken Anderson@katestarbird @tchambers Agreed. So much of the work that we studied and did on Project EPIC would now no longer be possible. It’s a real shame and hopefully we can see the work on crisis informatics continue on an open, distributed platform like Mastodon.
Keith Ivey@kenbod @katestarbird @tchambers The distributed nature and lack of search make it hard for Mastodon to fill that role.
Nathan Carpenter@katestarbird @tchambers I spent years promoting Twitter for emergency communications and have so many regrets
Smellbringer@tchambers @katestarbird Same case in Cali, the National Weather Service uses Twitter quite a bit.
Really helpful with this heatwave we're going through.
Don Hawkins - W7DAH
PeoriaBummer@katestarbird Very important observation. Relying on private platforms for critical infrastructure is one of the core problems in America right now.
Gabriela Noriega 🏳️⚧️ 🇧🇷I feel it's a bit deeper and more nuanced than that: it's America's unwillingness to get the government involved in serious matters except as a cheap source of money.
(e.g. charter schools over public schools, lack of product regulation, lack of price negotiating power to the FDA, lack of regulation of harmful speech, lack of regulation of digital infrastructure)
ᕲᗩᖇᖽᐸᘿᘉᘿᕲᑢᕼᗩSᘻ@katestarbird Wow! Jaw dropping observation.
JohnMashey@katestarbird
Minor nit:
suggest "rely on private platforms" => ""rely on unregulated private platforms".
After all, for many decades, Bell System telephony was a heavily-regulated private platform monopoly ... with stringent rules about reliability and service, and a shared goal of Universal Service, even as that meant urban/suburban subsidizing rural.
Minor nit:
suggest "rely on private platforms" => ""rely on unregulated private platforms".
After all, for many decades, Bell System telephony was a heavily-regulated private platform monopoly ... with stringent rules about reliability and service, and a shared goal of Universal Service, even as that meant urban/suburban subsidizing rural.
@JohnMashey Good point! I think we argued in that paper that because Twitter and other social media were becoming part of critical infrastructure, regulation was needed … among other things to make sure under-resourced audiences weren’t excluded from them- and safety- information, but there are so many more points of rationale I’d add if we were rewriting that today.
@katestarbird
Also, if a resource becomes critical, regulation has to incorporate the extra $ to allow disaster survivability/rapid recovery.
For example: while I was at Bell Labs, this disaster occurred & it took a massive effort to fix quickly:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_New_York_Telephone_exchange_fire
Also, if a resource becomes critical, regulation has to incorporate the extra $ to allow disaster survivability/rapid recovery.
For example: while I was at Bell Labs, this disaster occurred & it took a massive effort to fix quickly:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_New_York_Telephone_exchange_fire
@katestarbird And if you haven't read this recent book, it bears strongly on the issues of free-market fundamentalism & regulation:
https://www.amazon.com/Big-Myth-American-Business-Government-ebook/dp/B0B55F4XBY
https://www.amazon.com/Big-Myth-American-Business-Government-ebook/dp/B0B55F4XBY
Dale, The Cornflower@JohnMashey @katestarbird In Canada some provinces have Crown Corporations for critical utilities and infrastructure. That is, where conservative governments haven't sold them off. Even then most have heavy regulations surrounding emergencies.
@the_Cornflower @katestarbird
Agreed, I’ve seen that, having visited Canada ~40 times.
For a given function, there are always legitimate arguments over balance between private and government entities, and if govt, which level handles it and how, having worked at both extremes!
(Bell Labs was part of huge regulated monopoly; Silicon Valley microprocessor wars of 1980s-1990s were ferocious private competitive battles with little govt influence.)
Agreed, I’ve seen that, having visited Canada ~40 times.
For a given function, there are always legitimate arguments over balance between private and government entities, and if govt, which level handles it and how, having worked at both extremes!
(Bell Labs was part of huge regulated monopoly; Silicon Valley microprocessor wars of 1980s-1990s were ferocious private competitive battles with little govt influence.)
jz.tuskHi Professor Starbird. Can I "hijack" your post to ask you if you know of any person or group who are trying to get the White House to set up their own Mastodon instance?
I know they're just one high-visibility instance, and we really need to get this on all levels, but I've been thinking that it would really give the effort a big kick if we could get that done, and would love to pitch in with people advocating for this. Thx in advance for any pointers!
Karl@katestarbird Fully agree. But people saying this in 2008 were laughed at. Same now applies for AI and in 10 years we will regret not regulated (or created a non profit version) it when it was possible. History always repeats itself and we are shocked every single time...
Daniel AJ Sokolov@katestarbird Imagine the billions spent by governments and intelligence services on Twitter surveillance systems!
And Musk is burning it all down, making enemies in the wrong places...
@katestarbird YES, I do GET how crackpot what I am about to say will seem to all but the initiated, but “When ALL Else Fails, Amateur Radio” is not hyperbole nor is it antiquated as many assume.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/06/when-everything-else-fails-amateur-radio-will-still-be-there-and-thriving/
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/06/when-everything-else-fails-amateur-radio-will-still-be-there-and-thriving/
saltajose@katestarbird a similar dynamics is happening in most of countries outside North America with messaging: everyone relying on WhatsApp for messaging. Institutions are depending too much on it that once it breaks would cause everyone to be screwed.
Martin ElliottPrivate monopolies have proved disastrous in so many areas. Water, energy, rail, ...
Neville@katestarbird Problem is there are no non-private options because of the sheer amount of infrastructure required to handle billions of users. That requires a level of investment and centralised oversight a user-owned platform hasn’t been able to achieve. idk what the answer is.
Carina Steendam@katestarbird last week Twitter was way faster on events in Russia than MSM. It's a shame things are goingbthe way they are. Hope Mastodon can fill the gap.
Dr Jonathan Downie@katestarbird I see you've heard of UK water.
Yza@katestarbird my opinion is that if something becomes such a critical societal tool then it should be nationalized (though it's a more complex matter for an international service). It shouldn't even bother the owners of something like twitter, given how it was never profitable. being bought out should serve them fine
(((O)))@katestarbird The whole world is experiencing now what it means to have critical systems in the hands of a neofeudalist child. Imagine now what his tampering with Starlink coverage meant for #Ukraine.
Michael Höfler
Karl Morant 🇨🇦 
🖖I don't use twitter. It's not infrastructure to me at all.
flere-imsaho 🇺🇦@karlmorant good for you! congratulations! pat your back with pride! but also it's not relevant to the conversation here.
Gabs@katestarbird sadly I do not believe that the octogenarians who run our govt understand the internet or could comprehend anything you just wrote - they still thumb the yellow pages. I bet their grandkids have to work their phones for them. The rest of cyber security is crap for this nation esp consumer protections. In okla tornado alley- our local weather reporters tell us to rely on their streaming crap during storms. Lines & wI-fi never go down during severe weather events 😵💫🥴
HeatherTX@katestarbird
I spent two semesters of grad skool in Tech Comm studying disaster management and communication, with the bird site operating as a serious player in assisting response teams and residents. We relied on it too much. We considered it a valuable, permanent feature. RIP, birdsite. 🪦
I spent two semesters of grad skool in Tech Comm studying disaster management and communication, with the bird site operating as a serious player in assisting response teams and residents. We relied on it too much. We considered it a valuable, permanent feature. RIP, birdsite. 🪦
OpenDNA⚙️@katestarbird *Cajun Navy staring in disgust while FEMA tries to figure out who they can contract to replace the growing chasm in their disaster-response system*
miki@katestarbird What alternative would you suggest? Government-run services make little sense in a global context, and decentralized services don’t have the centralized search and hashtag management capabilities which are crucial in those situations. Such services are also far less resilient to natural disasters, if most people from country x are on x-speaking instances also hosted in country x, a natural disaster / invasion of that country will put a lot of strain on exactly that part of the network which will be needed most. Private-owned social networks certainly have their challenges, but I don't see other existing solutions as much better.
Bharath M. Palavalli@katestarbird Agreed! I’ve long argued that using such private social media platforms to analyse disaster response or allocate disaster relief is flawed as it is an inherently skewed dataset. I really hope this rate limit exercise nudges disaster management agencies to re-invest in open and transparent push mechanisms.
Carl Tucker@katestarbird In 2010 I was arguing that we (the emergency response org I belong to) should build our own private version of Twitter. It would have been easier for field responders to enter data quickly, wouldn't rely on voice reports or getting through on a telephone, would inherently create a chronological timeline, and coordinators could follow what they needed to know and not what they didn't.
Using the actual Twitter was never an option, because un-reviewed sensitive data being released to the public directly from the field techs? Never going to happen.
So of course, we got nothing and continued to use paper and voice telephones for years and years. UNTIL a big real event (that you've heard of) and the de facto communication method self-organized into facebook groups and group texts. That was so embarrassing they finally built us a custom millions-of-dollars app - that still doesn't do what the techs need it to do.
@katestarbird
Dangerous to rely on private platforms, no argument. But people are going to use what works when there's no will to make anything else.
Dangerous to rely on private platforms, no argument. But people are going to use what works when there's no will to make anything else.
@ctmf Niche platforms won’t work, because the value is in critical mass. You have to meet people where they are. But unregulated private platforms can’t be relied up either, as we’re seeing now. So, maybe regulation like the telecoms is the way to go? IDK the answer. My coauthor and then PhD student (Dharma Dailey) had thought a lot more about that aspect.
Allyson Williams ✅@katestarbird Do you think this platform could be effective, and if so, what do you think would be needed - something like a govt instance to ensure stable funding?
ChookMother 🇦🇺🦘@katestarbird Indeed. During a bushfire here in Australia I spent a couple of hours connecting people offering horse floats with people desperate to evacuate their horses. I didn't know any of these people but I could track events in real time which enabled me to respond promptly.
Ditto in catastrophic floods in eastern Australia someone was able to tweet that their grandmother was floating on a mattress close to the ceiling - this is her location please get her out."
@anne_twain Some of my colleagues at the University of Colorado wrote papers about the coordination (and volunteerism) that takes place, often relying up social media, to move animals and especially horses during wildfires. The lead author in that was an Aussie, though the paper was about CO wildfires I believe. But the activity seems to be universal. Pets need to be evacuated, people want to help, and where available, social media will be used as part of that.