There is a question that I like to ask agencies who call me asking for social media advice. It tells me a lot about how open they will be to using social media. It is simply this: What is your risk tolerance? Put another way, how comfortable are you with failing? If someone tells me [...]
Over the past couple of weeks, I have found myself recommending online vacations to people that are so “connected” to breaking news that they are exhibiting signs of stress. While the existence of social media provides us with faster and more information, it also requires that we be stay particularly in touch with both our [...]
This morning, I finished an 8K run/walk called the “Bridge to Brews.” This race takes you over the tallest bridge in Portland called the Fremont Bridge (pictured above) and back over the Broadway Bridge (which is the first bridge in the picture). Now, if you know me, I’m the most unlikely of athletes. I have [...]
Last week, I wrote about “mistake” tweets. And this week, we experienced several situations where agencies made requests or shared information in ways that provoked conversations about whether the action itself was a mistake. Situation #1 occurred during the search for Christopher Dorner when a request was made to the media to stop sharing information [...]
Some weeks have specific themes in the types of questions I receive about social media. And this week was no exception. Question after question that went like this: How do you handle errant tweets? Do you discipline employees who tweet mistakenly from your agency accounts? Did you see [fill in the blank] example? What would [...]
Following every disaster, there is a rush to judgment. And Hurricane Sandy is no different… We all have the ability to observe and evaluate the various stories, experiences and rumors that surface during significant events. But who among us ever has early access to the full story of the hows, the whys and the [...]
A picture should be worth 1,000 words. And, in the world of social media, graphics can help tell a story. This is especially important to both the news media and emergency managers who need to share information with diverse audiences. Sometimes, as an emergency manager, I’m sharing information with operational responders who need very detailed [...]
We’re now several days into National Preparedness Month and a number of emergency management programs are engaging their communities through the use of fun, game-based interactions using social media. Games are a wonderful way to engage your local community because it reaches people on a very different level. If anyone believes that our communities will [...]
My good friend, Adam Crowe (@adamscrowe), recently posted an article with a provocative title, “Is Emergency Management Dead?” where he discusses the changes in emergency management since the days of Civil Defense. If I read Adam’s intent right, he’s suggesting that emergency management, as a profession, needs to incorporate social communications into its operational processes [...]
Like an internet meme, a blog post entitled “Twitter 9-1-1: A Proposal” was shared over 100 times this past week on various social media sites. Originally written by Glen Gilmore in March of 2011, it was circulated again after a storm knocked out landline phones in New Jersey just recently. The blog presents an idea [...]
