With a dangerous summer approaching again in Australia, Twitter has shared some new tips to help people make the best use of the app in emergency situations – which also applies to other regions in times of crisis and panic.
Although Australia has experienced some particularly dangerous events recently. Indeed, according to Twitter, in 2022 alone, there have been over 175,000 tweets in Australia about natural disasters, covering the gamut from floods, bushfires and more.
To make the most of the emergency app, Twitter gave these key tips:
- Follow trusted sources for breaking news and in-the-moment updates – Twitter recommends local Red Cross or other aid organizations, along with official emergency service handles, as well as weather providers who can help provide context and official information.
- View Twitter in reverse chronological order – Twitter recommends that users tap stardom icon in the upper right corner of the feed to see the most recent Tweets first in your timeline, so you can keep up with the latest news about the event.
- Use hashtags – Twitter says event hashtags can help organize the flow of tweets around the most important updates, so you can find information faster or have your tweets seen by others searching for the same thing.
- Follow the moments on Twitter – Yes, Twitter Moments are still a thing, and Twitter suggests users follow these curated summaries of events to stay up-to-date, where it matters.
- Use Twitter Lite – Finally, Twitter notes that its Twitter Lite app (available at mobile.twitter.com) can provide a faster and more accessible service to people in rural and remote areas and/or where telecommunications are cut off.
These are important notes to help make the best use of the app to stay on top of the latest news and Twitter is the best social app to keep up with real-time updates about major events.
And as we’ve seen over the past few years, natural disasters are becoming more common and more intense as our changing climate adjusts and sends us more extreme weather events. This, increasingly, seems to be the new norm, and as such, it’s worth taking a moment to think about how you would respond in the event of such an event, and how the applications and tools at your disposal could help you stay connected.
Twitter can be a valuable channel in this regard, and these notes can be of great help in such a scenario.
