網際網路的普及趨勢和廣泛用途使其快速成為社會體系中的重要組 織，影響性深入各個層面。但是，當重大災難事件發生時，網際網路能 擔負起哪些傳播功能呢？本文經由文獻探討指出，網際網路的物理性基 礎結構與社會運用共同建構了有別於大眾傳媒的三點媒介特質：⑴傳播 模式多元的互動媒體、⑵資訊累積整合的共同空間、⑶人人可用的傳播 管道。經由分析網站在921地震後的傳播經驗，本文發現網際網路的媒 介特質被用於偵測和回應個人化的溝通需求，以及配合個人化的資訊使 用。

The Internet is playing an increasingly pervasive and important role in the contemporary world. But what can the Internet be used for when a disaster struck a society? This study, through literature review, highlighted three distinctive characteristics of the Internet as a communication medium: (1) the capabilities of multiple interactive communications (2) the unlimited common space of information (3) the communication channel for everyone, which are grounded in the physical infrastructure and social uses of the Internet. By analyzing the Web sites' responses to the devastating earthquake struck Taiwan on September 21, 1999, this study found that the distinctive characteristics of the Internet were used to detect and to respond to personal needs of communication, and to accommodate to individual uses of information in disaster situations.