Tag Archives: #disasterresponse

I’m stating it right up front: The recent introduction of Meerkat and Periscope will soon turn the world of #SMEM for emergency response professionals upside down. Let me explain. Last month I heard about Meerkat, a live streaming app that used ...

Well, it’s been two and a half weeks since I blogged on the new #SM kid in town, Meerkat. As the #SXSW conference started, the buzz over this new live streaming video tool evolved into a roar. It became the ...

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 ...

WTH? I can’t believe what I just read. The Washington DC Fire Department, located in the heart of federal grant land, cant’ even communicate with other agencies during emergencies. Last month’s deadly Metro subway fire exposed big time problems with ...

“Volunteers bring risk that is hard to manage.” This recent tweet, made by someone with purported emergency management experience, was made in response to my asking the question about several tweets they posted discounting the concept of using volunteers for ...

Who’s tired of hearing about the ugliness in Ferguson, Missouri? Me, for one.  I’m tired of watching a community commit suicide by Molotov cocktail, while dedicated police officers try to contain the chaos without getting hurt. I’m tired of hearing ...

“Standardize hashtags”- Ugh, here we go again. Another call for standardizing the use of hashtags during crisis. A report by the United Nations was just released, “Hashtag Standards For Emergencies”. Patrick Meier’s recent blog post provides excellent summary and background information ...

I just got back from the Oregon Emergency Medical Services conference in Salem, where I talked about the use of social media for crisis communications. After the three presentations I asked one of the conference coordinators if he had heard ...

A videotaped interview of four government employees responsible for handling public information functions after the August 24, 2014 Napa, California earthquake reveals real challenges and inherent conflicts between quickly informing the public, fulfilling incident command responsibilities and ensuring the safety ...

Preaching about the use of social media tools during crisis is much easier than actually doing it. Especially for smaller agencies with limited staff. But, does that mean it can’t be done? Absolutely not. Because of the recent Ferguson, Missouri ...