emergency management - walking the social media beat

Walking the Social Media Beat

Emergency Management with Social Media

Tim Burrows

http://about.me/timburrows

PopularityThere were over 6 Billion Mobile Devices in use at the end of 2011

Walking the Social Media Beat – Emergency Management Info. Tim Burrows

http://tacmedia.wordpress.com/

Popularity

SMS is KING

• 7.8 trillion SMS messages were sent in 2011. SMS traffic was anticipated to reach 9.6 trillion in 2012. MMS

• 387.5 billion MMS will be sent in 2016 representing only 1.7 percent of global messaging traffic



Popularity

Smart Phones• Nearly half (46%) of American adults own smart

phones (February 2012) Video• 72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every

minutePictures

• On average, 518 Million pictures were uploaded to Flickr daily in 2012.



Recent EventsStanley Cup Riots – Vancouver, Canada

• Police received tips to over 1,000,000 photos• Over 1000 hours of video was collected

Hurricane Sandy• 2nd Most discussed topic on Facebook in 2012• 10 photos were being posted to Instagram per second

Boston Marathon Bombing• Security Video led to the identity of the 2 suspects• Several public pictures captured the suspects in the background



Prepare

Canadian Red Cross Survey• 63 per cent of Canadians say emergency

responders should be prepared to respond to calls for help posted on social media.

• One-third of respondents think emergency services would respond to a request for help posted on social media.



Prepare

Source:American Red CrossSurvey on Social MediaIn Disasters and Emergencies


http://www.scribd.com/doc/63022972/SURVEY-DATA-Social-Media-in-Emergencies-2011




Prepare

“Don’t wait for the rain to build your ark”

Establish a social media voice for your organization

Become a trusted source of information in your community

Engage with your community to build an audience



Prepare

“Practice doesn’t make perfect. Practice reduces the imperfection” ~ Toba Beta

• Any emergency or disaster is a chance for you to practice– Set up key word searches– Follow the information– Determine what you would do better / different


Prepare

“Hope for the best, prepare for the worst” ~ Chris Bradford

• Prepare for the information you will receive during an emergency– Have pre-determined space allocated for receiving

video / pictures and capturing information– Be ready with the links for sending out to the

public (build a library of resources)


Know Your Role

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and leadership wins championships” ~ Michael Jordan

• Determine the team members and stay in those roles– Investigative– Support– Communication


Act With Authority

“To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

• Be the authority using empathy• Be the authority using facts• Be the authority by being present• Be the authority by sharing• Be the authority by being calm


Act with Calls to Action

“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets people to do the greatest things” ~ Ronald Reagan

1.Tell people what you need done2.Tell people what the can do3.Direct people clearly, concisely4.LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE


Calm, Slow Down

“Rumors spread faster than the news and news spreads faster than the happenings” ~ Amit Abraham

• Don’t be part of the rumor mill– Kill false information with the truth publicly

• Verify all information– Better to 2nd and right, than 1st and wrong

• Confirm facts, deny all else– If there is any truth to rumor, it’s fact; don’t try to

spin in today’s world.


Which Tool to Use

• Facebook• Twitter• YouTube• Flickr• Instagram• Pinterest• Blogs• Others

YES. Be where your audience is, where they are talking and sharing.

For outgoing communication, Twitter / Facebook are the fastest.

For long detailed or resource information, blogs work well, but broadcast the over FB & Twitter


emergency management - walking the social media beat

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