Just as individuals physically rush to the scene of a disaster, the same occurs in the digital world. The author notes that informational convergence via media has four main problems: it creates noise; information may lose its original meaning; misinformation may be created; and information must be systematically structured. This proposed research explores several questions concerning how a social media crowd might organize useful information.

The research consists of four studies, some of which have already been reported. Study 1 involves the creation of “crisis-reporting syntax” for Twitter so that Tweets are machine-readable. Study 2 considers collective action by “voluntweeters”--those who facilitate volunteer action. Study 3 addresses an expanding organization of digital volunteers into a longer-term group. Study 4 involves “using the crowd as a collaborative filter” to create further meaning. The author anticipates developing “crowd work as a connected cognitive system.” These are all interesting concepts.

There is considerable potential for helpful applications in this four-page research overview. Readers can anticipate interesting results.