It's Not My Emergency Retired Crisis Manager's Brain Dump
In a few days the iconic South By Southwest (SXSW) festival opens in Austin, Texas. The future of music, film and computer technology is presented and explored, including new social media apps. Twitter was introduced there in 2007 and Foursquare in 2009, eventually becoming booming social platforms. What about others since ’09? Nada…Zilch… But, that may change. I’m watching to see if a new kid in town – Meerkat – takes off.
Meerkat is a social media sharing platform that allows you to view real time video being shot by a friend. The insanely simple thing about this, and the part that makes me salivate about the disaster communications implications, is it uses Twitter to link to the videos! Why the hell didn’t I think of that!?! Pictures speak a thousand words. Video tells stories. Real time video connects lives. Using Twitter to connect to real time video can save lives, and you won’t need a drone to do it.
Finally, a new SM app that has me excited. Frankly, the “Groundhog Day” preaching of the usefulness of Twitter in crisis had gotten boring. Something tells me Meerkat may change that. Anyone out there tried it yet? Would love to hear your opinions.
