The use of social media analysis tools to harness social media data for preparedness purposes is unclear. The team at Trilateral conducted research with Red Cross Red Crescent and humanitarian actors to examine the opportunities and barriers faced by humanitarian actors in using social media analysis tools to analyse social media data for disaster preparedness.
This research identified a limited use of social media analysis tools by research participants. This (non) use of social media analysis tools was influenced by the interaction between seven categories of barriers relating to the user of the tool or the tool itself: language, culture, value, financial, human resources, technology, and data. Context was found to play a key role in determining the significance of each barrier in the selection and use of social media analysis tools for preparedness.
