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How to Save Lives with Microblogs? Lessons From the Usage of Weibo for Requests for Medical Assistance During COVID-19

During recent crises like COVID-19, microblogging platforms have become popular channels for affected people seeking assistance such as medical supplies and rescue operations from emergency responders and the public. Despite this common practice, the affordances of microblogging services for help-seeking during crises that needs immediate attention are not well understood. To fill this gap, we analyzed 8K posts from COVID-19 patients or caregivers requesting urgent medical assistance on Weibo, the largest microblogging site in China. Our mixed-methods analyses suggest that existing microblogging functions need to be improved in multiple aspects to sufficiently facilitate help-seeking in emergencies, including capabilities of search and tracking requests, ease of use, and privacy protection. We also find that people tend to stick to certain well-established functions for publishing requests, even after better alternatives emerge. These findings have implications for designing microblogging tools to better support help requesting and responding during crises.