Blogging during a Crisis: Threat and Efficacy in Online Communication during a Hurricane

Analyses of weather blogs reveal topics discussed by bloggers before Hurricane Ike. Messages included all four components (perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, response efficacy, and self-efficacy) of the Extended Parallel Process Model only 13% of the time. As time approached hurricane landfall, findings suggest bloggers fail to motivate protective behavior, for which threat and efficacy appeals must be present. The threat/efficacy disproportion could have profound effects when one considers the timing of the messages. Overall, perceived severity appeared most frequently in posts, and response efficacy was present more in readers’ comments.