Tweetstorms

A "tweetstorm" is a high volume of tweets about or around a certain topic. We often want to simulate a tweetstorm to see how crisis teams will deal with the information overload. The key to creating an effective tweetstorm is to simulate the build from an initial incident.

There could be some delay between the event and the reaction to it. This depends on how many witnesses there are likely to be. If it's an internal problem, will the public be immediately aware of it?

Social media content types after a crisis event

Building the storm

1

Phase 1 - Early witnesses

How and from where does the incident first become known to us? E.g. a call from security/broken website/a tweet of social media?

The details might be sketchy at this stage. We know something has happened, but maybe that's all. This obviously depends on the scale of the incident.

E.g. A bomb at a shopping centre is going to have more early witnesses than a coach crash in the mountains.

2

Phase 2 - Breaking news

The press pick up on the story and start tweeting "BREAKING" type tweets.

The details could be scarce or contradictory.

3

Phase 3 - Floodgates open

Because more people will be following the press than some random bystander (assuming they're not an influencer of course) the trickle of tweets becomes a flood as the world wades in with opinion, conjecture, emotion and lots more.

4

Phase 4 - Morphing

The incident becomes an opportunity for people to express other concerns and dig up old grievances. What started as one thing becomes a lightning rod for other issues.

These phases of content can be built using PoL. Phase 2 and 2 content might typically be scripted into the MEL as this is key info pertinent to the scenario. However, we can then allow EXCON the freedom to decide how much of a tweetstorm should build and how it should look (but this can vary on a team-by-team/syndicate-by-syndicate basis).