Using the Digital Archive in a Research Context Opportunities and Challenges of Participatory Digital Archives: Lessons from the March 11, 2011 Great Eastern Japan Disaster Harvard University January 24-25, 2013 Keiko Nishimura Galbraith

I am... A researcher studying digital media and communication Assisting a professor who is working on social issues in contemporary Japan An individual who experienced 3/11

As a Researcher

Papers “Social Media in Disaster Japan,” in Jeff Kingston ed. Natural Disaster and Nuclear Crisis in Japan: Response and Recovery after Japan’s 3/11. London: Routledge. April 7, (Co-authored with David H. Slater and Love Kindstrand.) “Social Media, Information, and Political Activism in Japan's 3.11 Crisis,” The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol 10, Issue 24, No 1. June 11, (Co- authored with David H. Slater and Love Kindstrand.) [ Nishimura-Keiko/3762] Nishimura-Keiko/3762]

April 2012

Text June 11, 2012

Teaching /Teaching_3.11.html

Social Media and 3/11

Text

Outline Phase 1: First responses Cross-platform dissemination Phase 2: Consolidation and use of information Rallying support Negative effects Phase 3: Politicization of/by social media Emerging alternative publics through protest The extension of the digital sphere

April 2012

Outline Phase 1: First responses Cross-platform dissemination Phase 2: Consolidation and use of information Rallying support Negative effects Phase 3: Politicization of/by social media Emerging alternative publics through protest The extension of the digital sphere

Outline Phase 1: First responses Cross-platform dissemination Phase 2: Consolidation and use of information Rallying support Negative effects Phase 3: Politicization of/by social media Emerging alternative publics through protest The extension of the digital sphere

Gathering Data Primary data Tweets, posted pictures, blog articles, BBS entries, and matome (summary) sites Secondary data Government announcements, white papers, company reports and analyses, newspaper articles, etc

Objective Phase 1: First responses Macro view Reconstructing “what happened” Timeline Posts, pictures, stories

Tweets How people on Twitter experienced the moment of the earthquake Google Realtime Search (~July 2, 2011) Topsy ( JD archive

3/10 10:20AM 3/10 5:08PM 3/10 8:21PM 3/10 6:02PM 3/11 7:44 AM

Ishimaki, Miyagi Ogasawara Islands, Tokyo Tsugaru, Aomori Osaka Kyoto Shibuya, Tokyo Sendai, Miyagi Biwako lake, Shiga Fukushima

Ishimaki, Miyagi Ogasawara Islands, Tokyo Tsugaru, Aomori Osaka Kyoto Shibuya, Tokyo Sendai, Miyagi Biwako lake, Shiga Fukushima

An intensity 6 earthquake hit and my TV fell, but I’m going to bed because I’m sleepy. This is nothing for us Sendai people – we are used to earthquakes. But I’ll take pictures of the disaster before that. I think several houses might have fallen down. I hear screaming from outside. Still shaking.

Findings Timeline right before and after 3/11/11 14:47 without keyword Early warning signs in smaller earthquakes (from the day before), automated earthquake monitoring program notified its followers Broader areas (Kyoto, Ogasawara Islands, Biwako Lake, etc) were hit by earthquakes, ranging in intensity Tweets were in multiple languages, at least Japanese, English and Chinese

Social Media and 3/11

Limitation of Social Media Social media did not reach those in need in disaster stricken areas Tohoku region home to many aging people The rate of use of mobile phones among those over 70 years of age is around 30% Archive illustrates one of the main points of our paper: limitation of social media

ツイッター /Twitter

Findings Location information with map and layers becomes intuitive information Citable to papers with screen shot

As a Research Assistant

Objective Theme: 3/11 and its aftermath Social issues (poverty, labor, welfare, social withdrawal, “lonely death,” etc)

Keyword search depression, lonely death, employment, etc Web sites - newspaper/magazine articles, blog entries, reports from NPO/NGO Searching through JD archive - all 3/11 related

Lonely Death

Depressio n

Employmen t

Findings Primary data No newspaper/magazine articles, but blogs and reports by NPO/NGO groups Topic-specific searches may not return many results Choosing keywords

Potential Expansion? Government information (white papers, reports, legislation, etc) Party policies (might be a good source for voters confused about the issues) Company reports, analyses, press releases Academic papers and citations

Future project

Digitality and Materiality of remembering

Scientific knowledge as affective assessment

Questions How should information be treated? False rumors; still a record (useful to gauge everyday experience) Harmful/discriminatory posts/comments Online discussion and debates (Togetter, blog posts)?

Thank you!