In the unfortunate event of a natural disaster or emergency, some of us have turned to social media to state presence, record the facts or just dispatch useful information to those affected by the circumstances. Twitter has almost become a standard form of communication in these situations. Back in September Twitter had introduced an emergency feature for such cases, which has since expanded. Now, the social network comes with another announcement, confirming the availability of the emergency alerts not only in U.S., Japan, Korea, UK, Ireland, but in Australia and Brazil as well.
The project was initially born from the Lifeline project in Japan. Today, several major public Japanese safety organizations are participating in Twitter Alerts including the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo Fire Department and Osaka Police. Korean citizens can also receive Alerts from the City of Seoul.
Also Read: Twitter to Introduce Nearby Tweets
Apart from that, Twitter has optimized the user experience for those interested in joining the alerts program of an organization. If you’re an iOS or Android app user, you can go to a participating organization’s profile and subscribe to their Alerts by tapping on the bell icon.
In addition, Twitter has added push notifications and you can now receive notifications from the organizations you have subscribed to, in case of emergency.
Some cool stats for this feature:
[unordered_list style=”bullet”]
- The first organization to participate in Twitter Alerts program in Brazil is Centro de Operações da Prefeitura do Rio de Janeiro (COR), which integrates data from around 30 entities including municipal and state departments and essential services.
- Μore than a dozen organisations have already joined the Twitter Alerts in Australia, including including the City of Sydney, the Australian Red Cross, the Department of Health, and fire and police departments from several municipalities.
- Korean citizens can also receive Alerts from the City of Seoul.
- In the UK and Ireland, 57 organizations are participating in Twitter Alerts, including the UK’s 47 police forces, An Garda Síochána, the London Fire Brigade, the Mayor of London’s office, the Foreign Office, CEOP and the Environment Agency.
- More than 50 U.S. organizations — state, regional, federal — have Twitter Alerts enabled.
[/unordered_list]
What do you think of Twitter’s new feature?
Related Stories:
- The Top Twitter Trends Around The World
- Twitter to Introduce Nearby Tweets
- Live Tweeting of Historical Events #TwitterTrend
You might also like
More from Twitter
Twitter Is Testing Voice Messages In DMs
Twitter is testing a new feature that lets users record, and send, voice messages in their DMs.
Twitter CFO: Trump Ban Is Permanent
According to Twitter's CFO, Trump will never be allowed back on its platform - even if he became president again.
Instagram, TikTok, And Twitter Team Up To Fight Username Hacking
Username hacking consists of stealing rare and coveted usernames on platforms like Instagram, and then sell them for a profit.
Twitter Acquires Newsletter Service Revue
Twitter is looking to expand into newsletters with the acquisition of Revue, a Dutch newsletter service.
Twitter Announces Birdwatch, A Community-Driven Approach To Misinformation
Twitter has announced a new community-driven way to address misinformation on its platform called Birdwatch.
Twitter Acquires Social Podcast App Breaker
Social podcast app Breaker has announced its acquisition by Twitter and the closure of its app on January 15.
Twitter Will Wipe Out All Followers From The @POTUS Account
Joe Biden will need some new followers, as Twitter announced its plans to wipe out all followers from the @POTUS …
Twitter Is Shutting Down Periscope
Another one bites the dust! Twitter announced that it's shutting down Periscope, but keeping native live video streaming in its …
Twitter Is Bringing Back Its Verification Program In January
After pausing its verification program in 2017, Twitter has now announced that it's bringing it back on January 20, 2021.
