evolving, and, in retrospect, interesting patterns emerged around themes
related to social computing, including
organizational development, brokering of volunteers and know-how, and
communicating with the media and
general public. Many could be improved through better software.
Experience. The volunteer effort
began via overlapping email threads
among Gray’s colleagues and friends
in the hours and days following his disappearance. Various people exchanged
ideas about getting access to satellite
imagery, hiring planes, and putting
up missing-person posters. Many involved reaching out in a coordinated
and thoughtful manner to third parties, but it was unclear who heard what
information and who might be contacting which third parties. To solve
that problem a blog called “Tenacious
Search” was set up to allow a broadcast
style of communication among the
first group of participants. Initially,
authorship rights on the blog were left
wide open. This simple “
blog-as-bulle-tin-board” worked well for a day or two
for coordinating those involved in the
search, loosely documenting our questions, efforts, skills, and interests in a
way that helped define the group’s effort and organization.
Within a few days the story of Gray’s
disappearance was widely known, however, and the blog transitioned from
in-group communication medium to
widely read publishing venue for status reports on the search effort, serving this role for the remainder of the
volunteer search. This function was
quickly taken seriously, so authorship
on the blog was closed to additional
members, and a separate “Friends of
Jim” mailing list was set up for internal
team communications. This transition led to an increased sense of organizational and social structure within
the core group of volunteers.
Over the next few days, various individuals stepped into unofficial central roles for reasons of expedience or
unique skills or both. The blog administrator evolved into a general “
communications coordinator,” handling
messages sent to a public email box
for tips, brokering skill-matching for
volunteers, and serving as a point of
contact with outside parties. Another
volunteer emerged as “aircraft coordi-
Interesting patterns
emerged around
themes related
to social computing,
including
organizational
development,
brokering of
volunteers and
know-how, and
communicating
with the media
and general public.
nator,” managing efforts to find, pilot,
and route private planes and boats to
search for Gray. A third volunteer assumed the role of “analysis coordinator,” organizing various teams on image analysis and ocean-drift modeling
at a various organizations in the U.S. A
fourth was chosen by Gray’s family to
serve as “media coordinator,” the sole
contact for press and public relations.
These coordinator roles were identified in retrospect, and the role names
were coined for this article to clarify
the discussion. Individuals with management experience in the business
world provided guidance along the
way, but much of the organizational
development happened in an organic
“bottom-up” mode.
On the communications front, an
important role that quickly emerged
was the brokering of tasks between
skilled or well-resourced volunteers
and people who could take advantage of those assets. This began in an
ad hoc broadcast mode on the blog
and email lists, but, as the search
progressed, offers of help came from
unexpected sources, and coordination and task brokering became more
complex. Volunteers with science and
military backgrounds emerged with
offers of specific technical expertise
and suggestions for acquiring and analyzing particular satellite imagery. Others offered to search in private planes
and boats, sometimes at serious risk
to their own lives, and so were discouraged by the team and the Coast Guard.
Yet others offered to post “Missing
Sailor” posters in marinas, also requiring coordination. Even psychic assistance was offered. Each offer took
time from the communications coordinator to diplomatically pursue and
route or deflect. As subteams emerged
within the organization, this responsibility became easier; the communications coordinator could skim an
inbound message and route it to one
of the other volunteer coordinators for
follow-up.
Similar information-brokering
challenges arose in handling thousands of messages from the general
public, after being encouraged by
the media to keep their eyes open for
boats and debris, reporting to a public email address. The utility of many
of these messages was ambiguous,