Reports of the Boston attacks came with lightning speed. Too fast to keep up in fact. The pictures and videos are horrific: This kind of event underscores the need to be prepared. We often worry about the big stuff: attacks against airplanes or nuclear plants. But what about the threats from within? From radicalized extremists using unsophisticated means? A whole look at our preparedness (in Canada and the US) should be in the cards now ...

So a few observations about today's events, media…

This is the last post in a series which started in late 2011. It focuses on my efforts to help organizations charter their course toward integrating social media into emergency management (SMEM). The previous posts: 

Series introduction (October 12, 2011)

Part 1: starting from scratch (October 23, 2011)

Part 2: Setting objectives and measurement (October 23, 2011)

Part 3: Choosing your first social network (November 2, 2011)

Part 4 Interactive use of social media (November 22, 2011)

Part…

There's no way around it: emergency managers have to take social media into consideration when they plan how their EOC will operate during incidents ... I'd make the same parallel with the incident command post for first responders ...

We all know however, there are varying degrees of acceptance and use of social media among the emergency management community in Canada and elsewhere. So the key is to convince executives and officials by showcasing the benefits of social listening during…

There are still skeptics (and thank God for them ! ... they help keep social media enthusiasts like me grounded ! ) who question the value of putting social media monitoring or listening among the priorities during an incident. I obviously beg to differ. In fact, I believe it's now a key consideration in trying to achieve a successful response to any emergency or crisis. Some arguments one might use to justify setting up a social media listening operation include:

• it makes a lot of sense…

I recently wrote a blog post on what lays ahead for crisis communications professionals in 2013. While I was preparing that particular post, the headlines and blogs were all about Jodie Foster first and Lance Armstrong later. All the while, the NRA also managed to grab my attention ... but not in a good way.

Let's get started ...We're all humans. We like stories about redemption,. second chances and new beginnings. In terms of crisis communications, this often requires some kind of public…

I've attached the document.....it's focus is on "why" we need to incorporate social media in Emergency Management.  The next step now is to focus on the "how".

Thanks again to all who contributed.  Hey....I got a passing mark!!!

Christel

As 2013 gets underway, it's important to look back at what the previous year brought in the long process towards integrating social media into emergency management (SMEM), BCP and crisis communications planning. In that regard, I have come up with a list of the top 10 SMEM events of the year. Here they are:

1. Superstorm Sandy
2. The launch of the American Red Cross Digital Operations Centre 
3. The publication of an SMEM best practices guide from New Zealand 
4. The spring tornado outbreak in the US
…

When truly horrific incidents happen, our mettle is tested beyond our wildest imagination. In that regards, we can only attempt to define the pain felt by the families of the victims of the school shooting in Sandy Hook, CT. Also, the lasting impressions in the minds of the first responders who attended the scene will certainly haunt them for a while.

What can we learn from this event. The first thing is that, although you are never fully prepared for this sort of thing, having an effective,…

The WCDM Call for Papers attracts submissions from more than 35 different countries and selected speakers are invited to this annual event which is currently in its 23rd year.  The deadline to submit is Dec. 2, 2012.

We will also be looking for abstracts that deal with the impact of the global economic downturn in terms of reduced budgets and support for all aspects of disaster/emergency/crisis planning (mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery) and how practitioners can meet their…