Public Health Affairs

Author: Jim

  • Social “Media”

    via youtube.com

    Hat tip to Gerald Baron: http://ww2.crisisblogger.com/?p=1260

  • Five Lessons We’ve Learned about Social Media During Crisis Response

    Post by: Kim Stephens

    1. If you build it, they will come: If you set up systems to engage the public through social media, don’t be surprised when the public responds.
    2. If you don’t build it, they will come anyway. People will turn to social media tools to both provide and find information from any and all sources.
    3. Information moves fast. Cumbersome approval processes will ensure you are never the first ones reporting anything.
    4. Go where the people are: Social Media can be used as a form of rapid communication and save lives, especially with populations that use of social networking extensively.
    5. Especially at the local level, emergency managers shouldn’t be surprised if people with highly technical skills show up and offer to help.

    via idisaster.wordpress.com

    I’ve listed the five lessons above, but the author has lots more information, including lessons learned and GREAT examples of how social media has been integrated into emergency management. (Did you get that? HAS been integrated.)

    Also, a lot of this is taken from Gerald Baron, who’s like my favorite person in the whole world.

  • Department of the Navy Social Media Handbook

    This seems to be the hot topic in government social media today. US Navy Command issued their social media handbook. I think the first half of the document is a good social media protocol for government agencies that allows one’s employees to participate in social media, but do it safely and effectively.

    The second part of the document, though is really cool. It’s all about using social media for crisis communications. And the recommendations are sound: establish a presence pre-crisis, monitor conversations, post quickly and accurately, engage.

    When I pitch social media to government agencies, they worry about doing something wrong or breaking rules or putting people in harm’s way. And I generally point them to the White House and the Department of the Navy. If they can do social media with all of their security needs and concerns, your local Health Department can figure it out, too.

    http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/doc_player.swf?doc=navycommandsocialmediahandbookweb-101013124845-phpapp02&stripped_title=navy-command-social-media-handbook-web&userName=USNavySocialMedia