Boston Marathon Bombing Spotlights Good And Potential Bad Of Social Media, mHealth In Disasters

While Boston area hospitals and police turned to Twitter during Monday’s Marathon Bombing, and Chinese people mourned the tragic loss of a national on social media, several federal agencies spread the word about resources at the ready for disasters.

The Boston Public Health Commission posted to its healthy boston blog advice on handling such situations, replete with links to CDC resources for healthcare providers after a bombing, and SAMSHA’s page on coping with violence.

News outlets of various stripes, meanwhile, weighed in on the potential good and bad of social media and mHealth technologies not only in Boston on Monday but also in future disasters.