The past five to seven years have been significant for Public Administration (specifically local and county level governments) and the use of social media. Police departments and city halls, libraries and vector control departments have joined the virtual and instantaneous chatter. Sometimes the use of social media is synthesized into a well defined communications program or strategy, while other times social media is fixed as a tool to an communications system predating the technology itself. Either way, social media has become a literacy of sorts, and each day the Public's expectations surrounding social media grows.
In a relatively short time, the expectations have grown to include communication during a crisis or emergency. We've seen social media as important and primary or secondary components to communication during California wildfires (Sutton, Palen & Shklovski, 2008), earthquakes and storms (Preston & Stetler, 2012), and airline crashes (Derner, 2013). While there are many things interesting and noteworthy about the emergence of social media as a part of crises, disaster or emergency communication, this brief aims to remind us all about some key ideas about communication during crises/emergencies/disasters, and to offer some practical ideas that can assist local governments and departments in being intentional about integrating social media into managing/leading during critical moments. Remember, Communication Is (among many other things):
Practical Ideas To Use Today In Social Media & Crisis/Emergency Comms:
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