The Social Media Avalanche and the Mayoral Communications Office

Oakland, Calif., Mayor Jean Quan had been getting an earful. And an email inboxful. And a Facebook wallful. Her leadership in the handling of the city’s Occupy protesters had gathered international attention, as the encampment was torn down and clashes between protesters and police had left many injured – including the much publicized skull fracture of an Iraq War veteran.

The mostly negative attention being directed at the city and its chief executive came through in the form of phone calls and emails, but also thousands of Twitter and Facebook comments. Those concerns – many voiced from beyond the city’s borders – were often angry, derogatory and inflammatory, according to Sue Piper, the mayor’s communications manager. One notable email sent to the mayor and redirected to Piper’s inbox, summing up the public’s general tenor of emotion, bore a one-word subject line: “Murderer!”