In emergency situations, the fastest route to spread information in via social media, who in turn often inform those who aren't on. Being prepared is important. As the earthquake in the DC area recently showed, the discussion instantly begins online. The US Geological Survey's shackmap was shared very quickly. The existence of that resource meant people could get facts quickly. That's a great example.
So what does that sort of preparation look like?
Comments (11)
Agree and would add that emergency planning should be a part of the planning for EVERY social media account that the government manages.
Any thoughts on what that planning should look like?
The first question is usually "What's going on?" - If you can answer that, great.
Then there is probably reinforcing someone is "on it".
I imagine there is a phased arc of action that smarter people than I have put together. Any resources ou there?
My research has found that 14% of Americans want more timely emergency information from the government. Things that scored higher include: plain language, more transactions online, and easier to find phone numbers and email addresses. Seems like citizens really want the basics from us in the gov.
The true solution may be to develop a constant social media presence that can be utilized when emergency strikes.
Establish a credible presence and engage now, and the natural reaction of the social media denizens will be to trust that presence in a time of chaos.
FEMA comes to mind as an agency who sees the value in constant engagement.
I suggest to talk to FEMA and Red Cross about this. They have been thinking--and working--very hard on these areas. For those who want the nitty gritty, see the National Response Framework and especially ESF #2 and ESF#15.http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nrf/index.htm
IMO FEMA did an excellent job around Irene.
@karen.trebon - My guess is that if people were asked amid an emergency which of those things they want more, the emergency information would rank higher. My thinking is that many of us don't plan well enough for emergencies and feel they'll never happen until we do. Plus there is the ripple effect. Person A may get the info via social media and inform Person B.
Which is not to diminish the need to deliver basics as well.
Thanks @gwynne.
Posting resources here is very helpful.
ed: realtime geo-targeted text circles; realtime geo-fenced calling groups (especialy for those on the road); pre-defined social media "influencers" by market for effective info dissemination; augmented reality apps to "recall" what a place / location looked like prior to disaster... it's all in my report
@Community Member 149665 - I hope that report has more verbs and less buzzwords.
Since Twitter seems to be the place that gets info out first but sometimes incorrectly. I think you need a Twitter presence that gives out the correct info and negates the incorrect info.
Social media sites can't be the only communications vehicle in an emergency, but it can certainly be extremely effective. Somehow all social media managers in government need to be versed on planning. And having an enterprise-wide social media management tool would enable quick posting to all agency sites.