Twitter has
launched Alerts, a new system designed to
help users get crucial information in the
event of an emergency.
Following on Twitter's implementation of a
similar system called Lifeline in Japan last
year, Alerts is meant to deliver the most
important -- and accurate -- information from
"credible organizations during emergencies,
natural disasters or moments when other
communications services aren't accessible."
The new system makes sense because Twitter
is already seen by many users as the most
reliable way to get real-time information
about breaking news, emergencies, and other
events. Giving users a way to get the most
reliable information from the most credible
agencies is a natural extension of that
common use case.
If you sign up to receive an account's
Twitter Alerts, you will receive a
notification directly to your phone
whenever that account marks a tweet as
an alert. Notifications are delivered via
SMS, and if you use Twitter for iPhone
or Twitter for Android, you'll also
receive a push notification. Alerts also
appear differently on your home
timeline from regular tweets; they will
be indicated with an orange bell.
The system is meant to allow users to sign
up for alerts from a wide variety of public
and private organizations that would be
putting out critical information via tweets
during an emergency. Users have to opt in
for alerts from each such agency. So, for
example, to get alerts from the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, a user
would need to go to FEMA's Alerts page and
click on the "Activate Alerts from @fema"
button.
Twitter has so far added a variety of national
and local organizations in the United States,
Japan, and Korea. In the US, those include
the American Red Cross, the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, the US
Department of Homeland Security, and many
others. Twitter said it will add more agencies
over time.
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