A Relational Approach to Reducing Uncertainty during a Crisis through the use of Mobile Technology

CCI Auditorium, 321 Communications Building

It is estimated that six in ten American adults access the Internet using some form of a wireless device (Smith, 2010). In the years ahead, the United States is expected to reach 100 percent mobile phone penetration by 2013 (“Getting to Know the Mobile Population,” 2009). Recognizing that the ability to access the information network at any time and at any place will continue to expand in the near term, it is incumbent upon public relations practitioners to critically examine the opportunity to reduce uncertainty through a variety of digital applications. In this regard, this paper adopts a relational approach toward the examination of how mobile technologies cultivate personal relationships and reciprocal communication methods that are characteristic to those outlined within uncertainty reduction theory. Findings include facilitating intelligent crisis response, implementing two-way communication, and encouraging citizen participation.