I watched a discussion on MSNBC last night where three talking head debated the response to Hurricane Irene. Was it too aggressive? Was it really necessary? This was a political discussion show. They were people who made their living talking about politics. Yet they felt perfectly comfortable talking about the response in political terms. None of the participants were response experts. They did not discuss the repeated warnings by the National Weather Service and their own weather people that a catastrophic flood was likely a day or two after the storm. The focused on New York City and the "inconvenience" they and the other New Yorkers felt.
None of this is surprising. What was surprising was the hosts comments at the end. He said that it was up to the media to keep the elected officials informed so they could make the right decisions. It was as if the whole emergency management apparatus and National Weather Service did not exist. He drew a picture of the elected officials hanging on every word from the various TV weathermen and women for the information to make their decisions.
The political aspects of a disaster and the media's over emphasis of it's own importance is about to change if the emergency management community will take advantage of it. That tool is social media in all it forms from Facebook to Twitter. Emergency management now has a way to directly communicate with the public. The local elected officials and emergency managers no longer have to depend entirely on the media to get the word out. Local officials can be on top of and even ahead of the media in informing the public of needed information. Yet these new tools are going to take a paradigm shift in thinking for emergency managers and elected officials.
The ability to communicate directly with the public during disasters is a powerful and sophisticated tool. Who will be responsible for it's use? Who will decide what and when information is posted? Who will manage the technology necessary? Is the PIO the best person or should there be a others involved? Will the PIO need a bigger staff? These are just a few of the questions that will have to be answered if emergency management is to take full advantage of social media phenomenon. There has much discussion in blogs and professional sites but I think it is time we began to answer not if we are going to use it but the nuts and bolts of how.
None of this is surprising. What was surprising was the hosts comments at the end. He said that it was up to the media to keep the elected officials informed so they could make the right decisions. It was as if the whole emergency management apparatus and National Weather Service did not exist. He drew a picture of the elected officials hanging on every word from the various TV weathermen and women for the information to make their decisions.
The political aspects of a disaster and the media's over emphasis of it's own importance is about to change if the emergency management community will take advantage of it. That tool is social media in all it forms from Facebook to Twitter. Emergency management now has a way to directly communicate with the public. The local elected officials and emergency managers no longer have to depend entirely on the media to get the word out. Local officials can be on top of and even ahead of the media in informing the public of needed information. Yet these new tools are going to take a paradigm shift in thinking for emergency managers and elected officials.
The ability to communicate directly with the public during disasters is a powerful and sophisticated tool. Who will be responsible for it's use? Who will decide what and when information is posted? Who will manage the technology necessary? Is the PIO the best person or should there be a others involved? Will the PIO need a bigger staff? These are just a few of the questions that will have to be answered if emergency management is to take full advantage of social media phenomenon. There has much discussion in blogs and professional sites but I think it is time we began to answer not if we are going to use it but the nuts and bolts of how.
