Just reminiscing about my visit to the London’s Air Ambulance with an old Flight Nurse I used to work with.
Love London. Great town!
Maybe this type of lettering/identification marking will help onscene delineate between Public Works Road Crews vs Emergency Medicine Physicians.
Special thanks to the flight crews from London’s Air Ambulance.
#MyWinterVacation
As promised, here’s my quick initial review of ello.
It’s only been a few days…so I figured since everyone isn’t on it, this might help show some of the difference between this new emerging social media platform compared to others.
Here’s a quick news package story from the founders of ello.co from Vermont.
Hot Social Network Ello Starts in Vermont
(Love the small town local news)
For those that think this is like Facebook? Nope. The company’s mantra of a simple ad-free platform is as plain jane as can be. Not much there. In fact,
Few initial notes I have on ello:
Forgot your password? I tested their forgot password send. The emailed reminder is hilarious, but NSFW. This kind of email would (obv) not pass work computer filters.
Testing browsers, I found a few interesting non-compliant issues.
Ello’s HQ sent an email last night touting their recent successes. Cool.
I do enjoy the quick simple emails with picture.
But let’s be honest, most of the ello participants that are already on ello, were drawn to the line in the email last night…”
The use of “thingy” has me worried…and of course excited. Thanks Matt.
Well, since this is in beta, I’m sure there will be more good things to come. But at this time, I am doubtful will hold (DWH).
Not even close to ready for use during disasters or emergencies.
Because of the low participation and beta, this platform is not useful for preparedness or response or recovery or intelligence.
Special thanks to @schnick for the invite.
Maybe more good stuff from ello.co on the horizon.
| 14-005: The wrong hashtag and checking official accounts | |
| Agency: TEEX | Topic(s): Official accounts and hashtags |
| Date: Fall 2014 | Platform: Twitter |
Citing the original source of information is a solid idea on Twitter. But citing the correct source with the correct Twitter handle is even more important. That’s what Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) did when they tweeted information about a gym bag/emergency preparedness kit.
The use of the wrong hashtag will drive your audience away from national trends. Remember, the general idea behind the hashtag is to help bring together trending posts especially this month because September is National Preparedness Month. My. Favorite. Month.
A quick search of “#Prepared2014” shows tens of thousands of tweets.
A search using “#BePrepared2014” yielded 13 tweets.
Those two letters really do make a difference. A big difference.
Also, when citing sources, make sure they are current agency accounts. The @readydotgov account has tweeted twice in 2014 and has 396 followers.
It also states in the description box “please follow us @Readygov”
The verified @Readygov Twitter account has 3,000 tweets with almost 90,000 followers and has been tweeting since August 2008.
No matter how good your communications plans are, your mechanical no-look cut/paste actions must be double checked every time. It takes five seconds to check. Additionally, you stand the possibility of your readers questioning the validity of your information when they see that you posted old/not used stuff.
A more effective tweet could have read:
If you can pack a gym bag, you can pack an emergency bag: ow.ly/i/4Eui3 #Prepared2014 #NatlPrep @ReadyGov @AnaheimCERT
By phrasing it this way:
Time is valuable, so tweet good stuff.
***To download this as a single-page printable format, click this:
TheWrongHashtagAndCheckingOfficialAccounts-Safety-PIO-SM-14-005a
| 14-004: A lonely shortened Facebook link on Twitter | |
| Agency: South Central Sierra Interagency IMT | Topic(s): Shared information/update |
| Date: Summer 2014 | Platform: Twitter |
Speed is primarily the reason why everyone loves social media…especially Twitter. Many agencies use social media to provide updates and information when assigned to certain incidents. That’s what the South Central Sierra Interagency Incident Management Team did during the French Fire in California when they pushed this lonely shortened Facebook link out on Twitter.
I get that 140 character max on Twitter is short…and you have lots to say…and you don’t have time…and blah blah blah. Everyone else doesn’t have time too. But pushing a non-descript link, does raise a concern that perhaps your account has been compromised by spam bots. Your agency has worked diligently to establish solid working relationships. During an emergency is the WORST time for your audience to question and/or ignore your official accounts with trusted reliable information.
If your social media plan calls for directing all efforts to Facebook as the primary source of information, a Public Information Officer (PIO) should still take the time to provide a little information (like a short description) on other platforms driving the traffic to that primary source. Providing just a link is not enough.
In the PIO business, we are forced to be precise, however just providing a link pertaining to a dangerous situation or disasters will not be enough to satiate the Twittersphere’s social interest.
Audiences change on various social media platforms, however, many agencies *think* they are all the same.
Knowing your audience is the hallmark of success. If you pair your Facebook and Twitter accounts to save time and to pass the exact same message – you should consider separating them now. Remember, you write/post/share information differently on various social media platforms.
A more effective tweet could have read:
| Still assigned to the French Fire here in California-Check out pictures frm @BLMNational Interagency Fire fb.me/1BV35Tytx #CAWildfire |
By phrasing it this way:
Time is valuable, so tweet good stuff.
***To download this as a single-page printable format, click this: ALonelyShortenedFacebookLinkOnTwitter-Safety-PIO-SM-14-004a
|
14-003: Write for Different Platforms |
|
|
Agency: Rocky Mountain Area IMT |
Topic(s): Social Media Platform Specific Messaging |
|
Date: Summer 2014 |
Platform(s): Press Release vs Twitter |
Despite the message being essentially the same, every communications platform is different.
Speed is important, but correctly addressing your audience is critical in the world of public information.
On July 1, 2014, this tweet was posted on the Rocky Mountain Area Incident Management Team’s feed during the Eightmile Fire while deployed in Canon City, Colorado.
“FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” In all caps? All caps use on social media portrays yelling. Professionals should portray calm/control.
Twitter’s social media platform premise is a fast microblog service focusing on immediate information. This templated press release lingo (FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE) is not necessary. Every tweet is automatically time/date stamped including matching the recipients’ time zone. Do not waste your valuable 140 characters.
To me, this was a cut-and-paste action, or even worse yet, they just linked the agency’s Facebook and Twitter accounts together. No time was spent in addressing the various platforms used to push this valuable information. Remember, PIO actions on each platform in social media are not generic, they are specific. We talk about safety to kids differently than we inform adults on safety right? Likewise, we should address our audiences on social media accordingly to the platform they use.
A more effective tweet could have read:
“Updated information & stats on the #Eightmile Fire ongoing in Colorado can be found here fb.me/6KArLmgFr ”
By phrasing it this way:
Know the differences in mainstream social media platforms because what will work on one old platform (press release) will NOT work on newer platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc…) Know social media and use their amenities to your advantage.
Time is valuable, so post good stuff.
***To download this as a single-page printable format, click this: WriteForDifferentPlatforms-Safety-PIO-SM-14-003
How about them apples!
If you aren’t monitoring social media…
Now do you believe me?
That’s right, she got caught because of her Facebook post. 
Colleen Cudney was convicted for DUI in 2012. One condition – she is to submit to random breathalyzer tests.
Fast forward to St Patrick’s Day 2014 (March 17th, 2014). Colleen was out carousing and drinking. On Tuesday March 18th, 2014, Colleen gets called in for a random breathalyzer test.
Colleen passes. She’s so amazed, that she takes to Facebook and posts about it: “Buzz killer for me, I had to breatalyze (sic) this morning and I drank yesterday but I passed thank god lol my dumbass.”
Well, well, well…..Local law enforcement called Colleen back again for an additional urine test. Colleen had indeed failed the more precise urine test. 
At this time, Colleen is looking at an additional 93 days in jail from the 18th District Court in Michigan for violating her parole. Nice work Colleen.
Shockingly, Colleen has since deleted her Facebook post and her Facebook account. Hmmmmm.
Morale of the story: Know the power of social media because what you post, isn’t really private.
@rusnivek
If you need an earthquake detection kit, I’d rec this one #NATLPREP
@rusnivek
DROP, take COVER, and HOLD ON. Once safe, you can update your Facebook status #NATLPREP
@rusnivek
Where is @rusnivek? 