A city has never developed its own social network before, but San Francisco wouldn't be synonymous with tech if it didn't lead the charge.
SF72 helps San Francisco residents plan an escape route in an emergency.
The city on Thursday launched SF72, which is a social platform of sorts that's designed for disasters . The Department of Emergency Management didn't set out to create a new Facebook with SF72. The city's team decided to use existing social networks—Zuckerberg's mainstay, Twitter, Airbnb, and hyperlocal startups like Nextdoor.
SF72 plugs into those networks and leverages the city's abundant tech resources to make emergency planning a less frightening, seat-of-your-pants experience. It turns out that doom-and-gloom earthquake predictions don't exactly send people running to map an exit strategy. Instead, they take the "la-la-la-I-can't-hear-you" approach.
"We found through research and user testing that people were intimidated by the types of preparedness information available because it tended to be overwhelming," said Kate Lydon, the public sector lead for SF72 developer IDEO. "People don't respond to information that's fear-based. SF72 is designed around the idea that being prepared is based on social connection. That's something we can do in our everyday lives."
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