Recent events and disasters have again demonstrated the enormous value of social media (SM) in emergency management (EM). I had the opportunity to undertake an after-action report on the use of SM and emerging technologies during Hurricane Irene this summer. The full draft report can be found here and I enjoin you to read it and provide feedback. Here's a brief excerpt:

Hurricane Irene saw widespread use of social networks by the people impacted and the different levels of government involved in the response. Many volunteer groups also used emerging technologies to contribute to the well-being and preparedness of their fellow citizens. Many observers noted the complementary nature of social media when compared to legacy media. Here's an excerpt from a Forbes magazine article:

"Social media has augmented the traditional outlet of news media to answer the "what" question. "Why" will always be covered by credible, well-thought-out news analysis and commentary. However, with social media, we all seem to be empowered as an author, photographer or reporter. While businesses debate the utility and relevance of social media, it has become clearer to me based on my experience last week that this vehicle offers a super-condensed "occurrence" to reporting time frame of humanly relevant information that I need. It's fast, scalable, searchable and originates at the source. For this reason, I will always have a Twitter handle."

-- Don Ball, Forbes Magazine, Aug. 31, 2011

In the age of social convergence (for an overview, see this presentation), emergency managers have no other choice: if they want their agency or organization to be relevant, it must use social media. as an emergency information tool but also in all other aspects of EM: preparedness to recovery. In my next posts on PTSC-Online, I will offer suggestions and tips on how to take the first steps, delve further into effective use of SM and finally, move toward the full integration of social media and emerging technologies in any emergency management program.

Each post will expand on the steps already outlined in an earlier entry:

• NO SM: we still hear some EM types go: ..." I don't have time or the resources, or the money, to get into social media ..." or "... I don't know enough about it" ... or even ..."it's a fad and will go a way, we need official tools to communicate ..."  What's our job: to educate, prod, convince and lead by example. Expand our knowledge of best practices and show good ROI.
• Limited use of SM: ... the first step is ... acceptance ... social media platforms are now key parts of our communities' fabric. We have to move at the speed of our audience and that means, in some cases, using social media as an old-fashioned one-way communications tool, Think of Twitter (for example), as a key component of your alerting/notification process. How difficult is that to sell to senior execs? Key argument: all traditional media outlets monitor social media so using it will get many audiences informed quickly.
• Interactive use of SM: now we move a bit further down on the engagement spectrum. We are into the realm of using more than one SM platform, integrating it into a good web-based information strategy. More importantly, we have convinced our bosses that we need to monitor SM because we can find very quickly what's being said about us. We know who some of the key "influencers" are, those who help shape public perception of our response.
• Conversational use of SM: the first real true stage of social media engagement, the Listen, Learn, Engage formula. Now that we know who our key stakeholders who may be helpful to us are, we actually go out and engage with them on social media platforms. We know who to interact with to counter false information and dispel rumours. A key selling point: engaging in SM will help us create a favourable public perception of our response.
• Operational use of SM: this is not only for the PIO or the JIC anymore, although SM play a key role in the provision of prompt, effective and accurate emergency information. Now, we're taking advantage of the "age of social convergence" where mobile devices/tech + SM = empowered citizens and volunteers ... This means we become aware of, and use to some degree, data provided by digital volunteers and crisis mappers. We use social media as a volunteer mobilization tool or we work with agencies/partners who do just that. Key selling point: adding data provided by volunteers/sensors out there in the areas affected by the disaster or from other places, improves our understanding of what's going on.
• Integrated use of SM: The last step in this continuum ... where outside data has been validated, where we have worked with volunteer organizations and help train their people so we have confidence in the info they provide. We integrate those data streams and analyses in the EOC. More than that, it's use is expanded in all aspects of EM, from preparedness and mitigation to recovery. In the response phase, that data provided thru mobile technologies, GIS-enabled software and SM platform is now an integral factor in the production of our common operating picture/Situational awareness. SM is now a fully integrated part of our electronic emergency management systems and a proven volunteer coordination tool.