Don’think Groupthink

Every Friday at 12:30 EST, folks jump on Twitter to monitor the #SMEMchat hashtag and discuss the latest and greatest issues related to using social media tools in emergency situations.  Work prevents me from being a regular participant (yeah, I know it’s a Friday, but what can I say? I’m a busy guy!). But, I weigh in when I can.

The cool thing about this chat is several thought leaders in social media in emergency management contribute.  The shared collective wisdom and dialogue is often enlightening and prophetic. Almost all chats are archived, including last Friday’s #SMEMchat.

Just as I can predict that it is going to rain in the next six months in Seattle, I can count on my #SMEM “peeps” for the following during these chats:

• Exploring new uses for social media in crisis response,
• Championing using volunteers for social media intelligence gathering, data aggregation and curation during crisis.
• Good natured ribbing…some of it “inside baseball” type stuff.
• Encouragement and support of each other and new chat participants.
• Respect for diverging opinions.
• Challenging each other to defend their position if viewed as “entrenched”.

Last Friday’s chat had most of the elements listed above and then some.  Patrice Cloutier, who I respect immensely as a emergency management professional and frequent chat participant, shares his views about last week’s chat here.

After the chat was over, the conversation and analysis of the issue continued online.  One comment made me pause, as a person noted their reluctance to participate in the #SMEMchat because it tended to be an exercise in “groupthink”.   Hmmm… Groupthink…. A strong statement.

I know a little bit about groupthink. Studied it in college….Pearl Harbor, Bay of Pigs….

Groupthink, a term coined by a social psychologist in the early 70’s describes what happens when a group of people grappling  with an issue make poor decisions because of internal group influences and  pressure to conform, regardless of the group’s original mission. I can look back on some decisions I’ve been involved with that probably fit the profile as well… But, I digress.

Reviewing last Friday’s dialogue, I can see why someone could think that groupthink was in play.   “Outsider” opinions were challenged, with perspectives and dialogue became somewhat entrenched and curt on both sides of the issue.  Does this mean #SMEMchat is a groupthink exercise? I think not.

My experience with #SMEMchat has been anything but an exercise in groupthink.  Besides the usual cast of characters comprised of stalwarts, noisemakers, peacemakers and wannabe SM experts (me included), I often see new players who dip their toes in the turbulent waters, sharing their perspective.  This can be tough to do with sometimes 3-4 conversations taking place at the same time.    The debate can be rigorous, edgy, confusing and frustrating.  I would argue that this dynamic helps prevent groupthink.

If you don’t believe me, bring up the subject of pre-defined hashtags for emergency events at Fridays #SMEMchat. Then, sit back and watch the fireworks!

My Nod to Chief Bruno

A long time ago, I read one of Chief Brunacini’s books.  Can’t remember which one.  But, I remember a section in the back of the book that contained a bullet list of lessons learned during his career. He had a habit of writing on index cards things he observed and learned on the fireground and the fire service in general.  Well, a few years back I started my own list below that I share with new employees on their first day.  In it you’ll see a sprinkling of some of Bruno’s”pearls of wisdom”along with my own.  I’m sure there are lots of other chiefs out there with much more experience than me who have their own lists.  Perhaps we should start a list club!

Chief B2’s “Things you need to know as a new proby”

This is by no means a comprehensive list.  It is a list of things I learned from officers I respected and some I didn’t in the past, my own personal experience in the fire service, and general common sense things that will help you make a long career out of working for the Fire Department.

1. Never run on the fireground (unless something is falling towards you, and then you probably won’t make it anyway).
2. Everything you do – or don’t do – in your first year on the job will follow you the rest of your career.  We have loooong memories.
3. If you screw up, admit it.  You don’t have a good enough memory to lie.
4. Don’t minimize your mistakes.  Learn from them and move on.  If you don’t, the next time the consequences could be much worse for you and your teammates.
5. Wearing dirty or worn out turnout gear makes you look sloppy.  Your job is to keep clean so you don’t catch cancer.  Dirty gear shows disregard for your personal health.
6. Look behind you before swinging an axe.
7. Never throw anything on the fireground.  The only exception to this is a rope bag.
8. You need to have your knots down cold.
9. Look up before throwing a ladder.  Lighting up the skyline with aluminum is bad form, and usually lethal.
10. Screaming on the fireground is only OK if you break a bone.  Otherwise, speak in a controlled manner that demonstrates your calmness and professionalism.
11. Get to work early, check your gear, replace your off going partners gear and stow it properly.
12. Find out what happened the previous shift and check all of your equipment and any equipment used the previous shift.
13. If it is dirty, clean it. If it broken, get it fixed. If it is missing, report it.  If you lost it, find it.
14. Backers make poor wheel chocks.  If you can’t see them stop until you can.
15. Always chock your rig.
16. Wheel chocks tend to shatter when you run over them, and always result in copious amounts of ice cream purchases.
17.  Look at the smoke…. If it is “pushin” and dark, the fire is hotter than Hades and will take your maximum effort and attention to conditions to put it out safely.
18. Sometimes the best it gets is so so. (I stole this from Chief Bruancini).
19. NEVER turn your back on traffic; Especially on the freeway. You are not a traffic cone….
20. Before going into a burning building, you better know where the windows and doors are so you can bail if you can’t get out the same way you came in.
21. Calling a “Mayday” is not a sign of weakness.  We will bust our asses to get to you.  When in doubt, call it early.  If you wait, you may die.
22. EMS is the largest part of what we do, and has the most impact on our citizen’s lives.  Do it well.
23. Citizens don’t care if you are an expert in dealing with their problems.  But, you better look like you care, keep them warm and be nice.  Otherwise, we’ll hear about it – and you will to.
24. Driving the BRT is fun. We loan you the rig to drive.  Wreck it, and your loan may be cancelled.
25. Activating the emergency lights does not place a force field around your apparatus.  Drive defensively and use ALL of your lights and siren.  If you run a red light or stop sign, you WILL hear about it.
26. Understanding how buildings go up helps understand how they may come down.
27. Often in emergency situations we do not have time to explain why.  Just do it!
28. Cleaning up unpleasant messes – and I mean REALLY unpleasant stuff – demonstrates compassion, professionalism, and pride in providing quality customer service.  Don’t leave messes for family members to clean up.
29. Missing an address is embarrassing.  Start now in learning your streets and numbers.
30. Memorize the pump panel.
31. Memorize friction loss and hydraulics
32. Look under the engine – study the piping and where stuff goes. (Look for leaks too).
33. Put water on fire, not smoke.
34. Roofs are designed to shed water.  Squirting water on a roof looks stupid.
35. If the fire goes out – SHUT THE NOZZLE!
36. If you are alone in a fire building, you are halfway to dead – either by the fire or by your company officer who has been looking for you….. to paraphrase Viper in the movie Top Gun, “you never, ever leave your wingman”….
37. Rip snortin’ car fires can cripple you. Wear your full PPE, and approach from the side.
38. Don’t get off the rig until your officer tells you.
39. Our drivers are smart.  Listen and learn.
40. Stay away from the “gripers”.  Those disgruntled firefighters who don’t know how good a job they have and complain about everything about the fire department and their co-workers.
41. Be skeptical of co-workers who have an opinion on everything and think they know it all.  On the fireground, they tend to be complacent and get surprised.
42. Being a paramedic is a great training ground for a future company officer.  Most life and death decisions and scene management are performed by paramedics on a daily basis.
43. Take criticism as it is intended – to make you a better firefighter.  If you can’t take it and learn from it, you don’t belong in this job.  We have to depend on you.  So, we will be hard on you.
44. You may be wearing the uniform.  But, you have to earn the right to keep it your first year.
45. If you embarrass the department, get arrested or otherwise do something really STUPID – ON OR OFF THE JOB – we will likely be helping you to be successful somewhere else.
46. Firefighters and officers have great bull%^$& detectors.  Don’t try and bluff us.  It only makes you look stupid and ticks them off.
47. Your name is “somebody”….. if a firefighter asks if “somebody” could get a piece of equipment, clean a gurney, grab a towel….that is YOU!
48. Leave your cell phone in your car.  Having your “Who let the dogs out” ring tone go off during a cardiac arrest call will follow you the rest of your career (bow wow).
49. If you gossip, you are just as bad as the person who told you.  You don’t have time to listen to that crap.  You should be busy studying your streets and numbers.
50. If you work with another proby on the same shift. Your job is to beat him/her to any training tasks, and if unsuccessful support them in looking good.  This is a team sport.
51. Your station better be clean – including the toilets and the dishes.  If the chief shows up at the station, coffee better be on (or be brewing within 5 minutes after arrival!)
52. Coming out of a fire – including training fires – with a melted helmet makes you look like a reckless idiot.  You may be paying for your new one….. in more ways than one.
53. If you get hurt on the job report it.
54. Amazing Grace played by bagpipes sounds really good….unless it is being played for your family.
55. If you get exposed to infectious disease on the job, report it…then ask yourself why you were not wearing the appropriate PPE available to you.
56. Stay fit.  Work out…. It is bad form if the paper pushin’ chief officers are in better physical condition than you are.
57. Watch what you eat.  Garbage in, garbage out.
58. Some things we are just not meant to see.  If a call “rocks your world”, talk to your officer.  We have all seen horrific events that challenge our sense of mortality.  We have been there, and will help you.  We’re in this together.
59. First names are for your peers.  Officers are called by rank.  Regardless of whether you like them or not.
60. If you go to inappropriate internet sites on the city computers, or send inappropriate emails, you risk your job…. Can’t you wait 24 hours till you get home?
61. Take pride in your appearance.  You may know your job cold and be an expert in something.  But, if you show up to the little ol’ lady’s house wearing a department t-shirt with food stains and Birkenstocks she’ll think you are a goof ball.
62. Your job is to keep your rig clean – throughout the shift.
63. TV watching, internet surfing or X-Box is for those who have passed their streets and numbers test, have hydraulics down cold, can recite the BLS protocols, and know where every single piece of equipment is and how it is used.  If you can’t do this, you have no reason to be watching “Dancing with the Stars” (Exceptions may be made for programs of national significance…World Series or Super Bowl for example).
64. Take a deep breath before talking on the radio…Stop and think about what you want to say before pushin’ the button.
65. If you get uptight when a fellow firefighter gives you “the business”, you better figure out a way to deal with it.  Bustin’ chops is part of our culture.
66. If you feel you are being hazed, report it.  We don’t tolerate it.
67. It is not acceptable to simply “look” on the fireground.  We expect you to “see” and maintain situational awareness.

Who else wants to join the list club? Bring it on!

We’re Gonna Need A Lot More Guys

A couple of months ago I heard about a new social media website in a meteoric climb.  Pinterest is the new kid on the block.  Within a year of it hitting the “beta world”, it earned top 50 status in Time Magazine’s ranking of top websites.

Think of Pinterest as kind of a virtual corkboard for your kitchen wall.  It’s where you stick your favorite pictures, ideas, inspirational quotes, shopping lists, etc…  Except, you can have a whole bunch of corkboards spread all over your house.

So, I thought I’d take a peek and see what all the hub bub was about.   Because the site is still in development, you need request an invitation to join.  Friends of mine said it took two weeks to receive an invite after requested.  I’m proud to say it only took me two days. HAH!

Briefly, here’s how it works.  “Peeps” (I just made this up) set up theme-based image boards, based on their interests and passions. They then fill their boards with photos, images or videos from the internet or their own files. Other Peeps can “repin” (think “retweet”) the pin to their board, add comments and share. You can search by subject terms to find similar interests. Also, like Twitter you can follow other Peeps.  I threw together a few topical boards, like Laid Back, Maui, Fire trucks (go figure), Golf (ditto), Harley Davidson, Motorcycles (OK, I’m redundant), and Bathroom Remodel (more on this in a minute).

I quickly realized I am a minority on this site….. I’m not into weddings, arts and crafts, sewing, crochet or recipes.  In other words, here women rule the roost.  They are sure a creative lot, and love to spread their passions.  Waitaminute! I just had an “AhHah!” moment.

It struck me that this new and unique social media platform could be a target rich environment in a crisis.  Why?  Simple, a picture is worth a thousand words.  Visualization is the ultimate in communication (unless you are a Vulcan, partial to the mind meld).  It imparts knowledge, begs for interpretation and stimulates imagination.

Now, add the ability to comment and repin and you have Twitter on steroids.

It remains to be seen if this platform expands beyond the artsy craftsy crowd.  I hope so.  If I see one more crochet pattern or wedding dress I’m gonna puke.

“Juuust a bit outside”

Over the past few days I watched with much fascination the unfolding of a needless tragedy, the sinking of the Costa Concordia.  During the first few hours, tweets and reports of the ship’s sinking surfaced in the news.  I retweeted a few posts, impressed with the quality of the information contained in the 140 character messages and the attached links. I mentioned to my wife (the all-knowing one) that this was going to “go ugly early”.  At first, I assumed a mechanical malfunction of the propulsion system must have allowed the ship to beach on the rocks.  It now appears my slant towards granting benefit of the doubt was perhaps a wee bit generous.

The captain of the Costa Concordia now stands accused of purposefully cancelling the ship’s pre-programmed route to glide up the coastline of a nearby island to show off the ship.  We all know what happened next…whammo.  But, who could have predicted the reported lack of “command presence”, both figuratively and literally by the ship’s captain?  Audio recordings and interviews with passengers, crew and the Italian Coast Guard indicate a total collapse of command and control in the following hours.

The absolute power and control a captain has over his vessel at sea is well-known.  So is the legendary expectation (thanks to the Titanic Captain Edward Smith) that the captain should be the last remaining on a sinking ship.  The perception was recently reinforced when “Sulley” made sure he was the last person out of ditched US Air Flight 1549, after he made a last pass through the cabin.

The finger-pointing and blame game began even as the first passengers were reaching shore, and has only escalated with time. It will likely take months, if not years for the truth to emerge on exactly what happened and why.  But, as a chief officer who has served as the “captain” in navigating hairy emergency events, I identified a few key things that can sink an incident commander’s (IC) boat just as fast as the Costa Concordia’s captain’s.

Lack of adequate “size up” It must have been quite a shock to the ship’s command staff when their kazillion ton vessel suddenly tilted over, made god-awful noises and cames to a grinding stop.  However, I’m guessin’ that sitting on the bridge of a ship so large insulates you from what is going on below.  The passengers and crew below likely heard and felt the collision much harder.  The question is, were these observations communicated in an organized and comprehensible fashion to the ship’s leadership? Did someone from the ship’s senior leadership descend into the ship’s lower spaces to get eyeballs on the situation and talk to engineering staff?  Initial Coast Guard recordings and ship announcements to passengers indicate that the grounding may have been mistaken by the crew for some kind of major generator/electrical problem.  Whoops…. “juuust a bit outside” (nod to famous baseball announcer Bob Uecker) on that size up.

As an Incident Commander, do you perform a 360’ size up of every incident?  Do you take the initial reports and information at face value and act solely on this information?  Do you communicate quickly, succinctly and rationally with your command staff and company officers on the fireground?  Do you use ICS procedures on every single emergency event your agency responds to?

Placing yourself before others GPS tracking showed the ship’s course deviated significantly from the programmed route.  Why?  Did the captain deviate from the route to impress someone he knew who lived on the island? The investigation will reveal the truth. Regardless, placing your own interests ahead of those you are responsible for during an emergency can come back to bite you.  First responders have highly tuned bulls*** detectors, and will call you on it in a nano-second.

Disregard for safety The passengers had not yet participated in the required lifeboat drill, even after a full day at sea.   Crew members were confused about abandon ship procedures, and did not take charge in directing passengers.  There are likely 3000 stories of confusion and panic to be told.  My first question was, what is company policy? Was it followed?

So, IC’s, let me ask you, when was the last time your crews participated in a Mayday drill?  Would the reaction and performance of your crews be better than this ship’s crew? Really?  Gut check time. I heard of a fire department that runs a Mayday drill after every structure fire- before they leave the scene.  Now, that’s safety training.

Abandoning ship Perhaps the most damning accusation in the public’s mind (certainly mine) is the fact that the captain left the ship before most of the passengers got off.  He denies leaving the ship before the passengers. But, I’m now hearing he was being questioned on land well before the surviving passengers were brought to shore. He’s toast…

How does an IC “abandon ship” on his crews? By not having the courage to make the tough choices. Sticking with doing what is right, even when crews are rebelling in the heat of the moment on the fireground, takes courage.  Just ask the Worcester warehouse IC, who knowing six firefighters were trapped in the bowels of a blazing warehouse physically barred other firefighters from diving in.  He didn’t abandon anyone. He stuck it out to the bitter end, saving those that could be saved.

While this spectacular tragedy plays out, Captain Francesco Schettino’s actions serve as a sober reminder of what happens when you fail in leadership.  As incident commanders, we must learn from his mistakes and do everything we can to make sure we avoid running our organizations aground and leave no one behind when we confront our worst day.

Baron Nostradamus

Yesterday, Gerald Baron (the #1 Big Kahuna of social media in emergency management according to Patrice Cloutier’s ranking of top 25 social media emergency management influencers) gave his predictions on what will happen with SMEM in 2012. I read lots of blog articles about where we have been, and where we may be going as it relates to crisis communications.  But, I have to say GB’s latest Venturing into the dangerous water of predictions for 2012 is one of the best this year.

I won’t regurgitate all of his predictions (which are spot on).  But, I feel compelled to add my two cents perspective. I hope we all enter 2012 keeping his predictions in the forefront as we shape our crisis communications work plans.

1.       Crisis and emergency response communication is ending as we have known it.

Yep, it’s true.  The scary thing is many public and private institutions still don’t get it.  They downplay the importance of pro-active engagement, and the not so new expectation of “speed of light” responsiveness.  In a recent conversation with Gerald, he pointed out that a study of emergency management organizations revealed that over 50% do not have a web page for their organization.  Now, that’s scary.  If they don’t have this basic communication tool in their toolbox now, how the heck are they going to communicate when the feces hits the oscillator?  Poorly I predict.

2.       Social media channels will continue to diffuse.

I’m guessing many of you who are trying to stay on the “cutting edge” of social media crisis communications struggle with the ever increasing number of new platforms and gizmos designed to increase social interaction.  I have been in an internal tug of war trying to migrate from Facebook to Google +, as I like G+’s simplicity and features.  The problem is most of my friends don’t agree.  Gets kind of lonesome… With that said, I agree with Gerald that integration platforms will be key in helping us monitor and respond.  I like my Tweetdeck, Seesmic and Hootsuite feeds that allow me to blend my Facebook and Twitter accounts.  But, I think we’ll see more robust and elegant solutions in the next year or so.  Hopefully, they will be cheap (free would be good).

3.       Content curation and situation awareness will be primary concerns.

I can’t really embellish further on Gerald’s thoughts here. I wrote on this topic, albeit from a “boots on the ground” perspective on Gerald’s Emergency Management blog last year. Worth a read.

4.       We will speak in video and images.

Yep, totally agree.  But, I need to point out one itty bitty problem….. BANDWIDTH!  Hey Congress and FCC!  Pull your heads out and reserve D-Block for public safety!  Now!

5.       Mobile Power

Pads, Droids, Siri, GPS, IPhone, etc…. yep, I get it.  But, I again want to point out a couple of itty bitty problems we need to resolve… 1.  Battery life/power, and 2. BANDWIDTH!

6.       Threats to the internet will rise.

I don’t know how the whole SOPA thing is going to turn out.  Hopefully, cooler heads prevail and rationale thought returns to Washington D.C…  Regarding social responsibility and use of social media as a weapon I don’t think we can put the genie back in the bottle.  All we can do ensure we have strong values, communicate them pro-actively, and respond responsibly and aggressively when they are challenged. I think Fed Ex did a pretty good job of this in the latest poor customer service “dust up” in the social media arena.

Thanks Gerald for your continued eloquent leadership.  I look forward to reading your 2013 predictions!

Happy New Year!

Obtuse brevity

My staff often accuses me of being obtuse and nebulous as I pontificate in briefings and written communications.  While I don’t agree with their jealous and myopic perspective of my keen skill in spouting bureaucratic hyperbole, I thought it prudent to state simply the overarching concepts inherent in effective and principled social media crisis communications. As you peruse these snippets of brevity, reflect on recent crisis SM communications.  Were these critical tenants addressed?  I strained to address each of these succinctly…

Fast

Don’t pass go, don’t collect $200.  Just Do It.  (Apologies to Nike)

Responsive

Someone mentions you, contacts you, fillets you, praises you…. Acknowledge. You don’t have to agree, but at least acknowledge

Credible

You fudge, hedge, deflect, delay, lie…. G’day benefit of the doubt

Honest

If you did it, own it.  If you didn’t, state it.  If you don’t know, say so!

Accurate

It’s OK to release information current at the time.  It’s not OK to let incorrect or old information linger.  If you are wrong, or info changes, get it fixed..NOW!

Expert

Ya better know what you are talking about, or make sure you get someone onboard who does (or at least appears as though they do).

Observant

Shut up and listen. (Courtesy of my Dad)

Skeptical

Challenging information begins with a one word question…  “Really?” Think before you RT someone else’s stuff.

Innovative

Information travels at the speed of light.  Culture changes are happening at the speed of sound.  It’s still faster than we can drive.  Get with it.

Respectful

Don’t diss your customers (listeners)…Period.  The customer is always right…. Unless they are a criminal.  Then,  book ‘em.

Caring

Two words –  “I’m sorry” But, you better mean it.

Have a great holiday season everyone!

Video Killed The Radio Star

To video or not to video?  That is the question.  Recently, Dave Statter (@Statter911) told me of an incident where the Washington DC police department was criticized for hassling a citizen videotaping police operations on a public street. The incident made the news, and the police chief apologized.   With the proliferation of smartphones with built in video cameras, there are now millions of citizen journalists poised to capture the initial moments of emergencies and our reactions to them. This capability can be a tremendous asset, or a big albatross around our necks. We often make the choice ourselves.

Many of us who routinely follow current fire service events cringed when we heard about a Georgia firefighter who used his personal phone to shoot video at the scene of a fatal car crash, including a graphic shot of the deceased still trapped in the car.  Shortly thereafter, he sent the video to some friends, who then passed it along to their friends, and…guess what? Yep, the family of the dead woman saw it too.  A media feeding frenzy soon began, including a CNN interview with the victim’s family. The firefighter was subsequently terminated for recording the video and then trying to cover up the fact that he sent it to others. One can only assume that a civil suit is, or is going to be filed in this case.

Compounding the issue of duty related “freelance” video recording is the proliferation of helmet cameras; small ruggedized, waterproof devices affixed to the side of a fire helmet, recording video wherever the wearer’s head is pointed.  There are dozens of YouTube videos taken with firefighter helmet cameras, offering the public a rare glimpse about the conditions first-in crews face at working fires and other emergencies.  It also provides documentation for after action reviews (AAR) and fireground training.   Here is short clip of a citizen video shot in the early morning hours as the first-in engine arrives at a fire in one of our downtown buildings (The crew made a great stop by the way).  I stumbled upon it a few months ago.

But, this capability presents problems as well.

As anyone knows, fireground operations are highly fluid situations, a target rich environment for tactical mistakes and Monday morning quarterbacking by anyone watching.  Providing graphic evidence of real or perceived mistakes can be a nightmare for the agency administration, or as noted above the individual shooting the video.  Houston Fire addressed this conundrum in 2009 by banning helmet camera use by individual firefighters.  Does your agency have such a policy?  Given the number of helmet camera and close-in emergency scene videos, I guessing there are many that don’t.

Chiefs, you need to go to YouTube and search for videos by your department name.  If you find ‘em, watch ‘em…all of ‘em.  Then get busy writing an appropriate policy on how your folks can or can’t use personal video devices at work.  You and your department’s reputation may depend on it.

We Need a Virtual Toilet Plunger

This afternoon, the HELP Foundation, a non-profit disaster planning and management volunteer organization posted an intriguing Twitter question to one of my #SMEM colleagues, Jeff Phillips

My knee-jerk response is….wait for it…a toilet plunger.

Yep, you read me right.  Now, you are likely wondering “what the heck?”  Stay with me a minute while I explain.

Everyone has had to deal with a plugged toilet at one time or another.  As a father of three, I was really  good at fixing them. Maybe I ‘m just warped, but the analogy of a plugged toilet and the efforts to integrate SM into the ICS process seem too obvious to me.  How so?

• Typically, toilets get plugged for one or more of the following reasons;
  • Not enough available water,
  • Too much material,
  • Trying to flush stuff that doesn’t belong
  • Broken flushing mechanism
  • Inadequate training

Now, what really sucks is when you encounter this situation after you have innocently “gone about your business”. You flush, and “oh, oh” up comes the water, overflowing the bowl and making a mess that spreads everywhere.  If you are lucky, the bowl won’t overflow allowing you the opportunity to make a silent getaway for someone else to discover and deal with (don’t tell me you haven’t done it either!) Now, do you see where I am going with this?

I submit to you that there are a bunch of plugged ICS toilets out there.  First, many agencies do not have the internal resources, motivation and/or political will (the water) to embrace SM in ways the public now demands.   We need to continue to help others “fill their tanks”, gaining the knowledge to realize the importance of using these tools in crisis response.  Craig Fugate, the head FEMA guy, continues to champion the use of SM in all phases of emergency management.  He is keeping the SM “tank” full as it relates to emergency management activities.  But, I have not seen a parallel champion in the ICS realm at the federal level .  Maybe Craig can do both.  But, if so, he needs to push harder on the ICS handle.

Second, an overwhelming amount of information and resources are floating around that can cause the unenlightened to simply block efforts to engage.  Blockage also occurs from bureaucracy – outdated, bloated and rigid policies, procedures and technological “plugs”, delaying or prohibiting SM advocates from engaging.

Third, SM is not the answer for everything. and we can’t dump it alone into the bowl. In our efforts to champion SM for use in the ICS and the related planning process we must frame our strategy and tactics to include using ALL appropriate tools and tactics to deliver the message as intended.  There may be times where the use of SM tools and related technologies won’t be appropriate or effective, especially in the information dissemination arena.  Incident Commanders and PIO’s must be even more strategic these days in deciding how best to deliver a message, and even more importantly listen to what people think of the delivered message.

Fourth, you can’t deliver effective messages if your ICS mechanism is broken.  In other words, the Incident Commander and Public Information Officer MUST clearly understand the “new normal” as it relates to communicating with the public through the media, and the importance of listening and public engagement. Most importantly, they must accept and adopt tactics that enable FAST information sharing and rumor management during the heat of battle.

Finally, one of the biggest blockages in the ICS SM information toilet is lack of training. FEMA is supporting creation of  new courses designed to enlighten and introduce ICS types to SM concepts and tools that could-and should – be integrated into emergency response plans and in-house training efforts.  A recent pilot course on use of social media tools in natural disaster response was conducted by the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center/University of Hawai’i in Astoria, Oregon.  Judging by the amount of Twitter traffic originating in the class, I hope this pilot will be finalized and offered again soon.  We desperately need it.

OK, getting back to the Help Foundation’s original question, I suspect they are simply chumming for ideas to help them build the perfect platform, strategies and tools to improve the integration of SM into ICS.  But, I’m not cerebral enough to come up with a really esoteric answer.

Gotta run, natures calling….

Take Me Back To Kindergarten

OK, I have to admit it.  My blog yesterday about the just released paper called “Transforming the Response Enterprise” ended up a little short on analysis and related opinion.  Earlier in the evening Kim Stephens asked me how I was coming along in writing my blog article on the need to define and demonstrate operational benefits discussed in the paper.  Oops, forgot all about it.  So, I plastered up my stream of consciousness in play at the time.  Re-reading it this morning, I see that I did not complete my assignment.  Sorry teach (@Kim26Stephens).   Please accept my addendum and raise my SMEM grade.

The authors, Wardell III and Su challenged those in the social media and emergency response communities to “Demonstrate the value of integrating social media into operations by capturing improvements in the speed and effectiveness of response.” They go on to suggest “One area where these improvements can potentially be seen most clearly is in realtime disaster relief routing and logistics decision-making.”

“Demonstrate the value…by capturing improvements in the speed and effectiveness of response.”  Hmmm….. I get the “speed part”.  It is already a game changer for us.  There are lots of examples out there about lightning fast dissemination of information, like the poor guy in Pakistan who unwittingly tweeted the ongoing super-secret raid that killed Osama bin Laden. You can’t get much faster than that.  But, the authors correctly note the need to document how this speed helps the Incident Commander standing on the street or the Emergency Manager sitting in the emergency operations center (EOC)

In the earliest stages of a large emergency, speed can be friend and foe.  The bigger the problem, the more deliberate and careful an Incident Commander needs to be in setting up ICS and safely deploying resources.  One aspect where speed is an unequivocal plus in is in gaining situational awareness (size up). The ability to quickly survey real-time data from observers, victims and spontaneous volunteers can be invaluable to an incident commander/management team.  But, how do you quantify this to make the case for social media adoption?  Will collecting and measuring metrics motivate ICS types in the trenches who can’t be bothered with details?  I’m guessin’ not.

So, what will motivate? Don’t give us charts and graphs.  Tell us the stories of how SM was creatively used to quickly size up a crisis, facilitating rapid deployment of resources where they are most needed. Tell us how those most vulnerable took actions based on SM alerts and instruction that saved their lives BEFORE the disaster. Better yet, don’t just tell us. SHOW US! Video and photos richly communicate information in ways that cannot be replicated by the written word or graphs alone.  We need to create a visceral response if we want to get buy in.

“One area where these improvements can potentially be seen most clearly is in realtime disaster relief routing and logistics decision-making.” Hmmm… This approach works if you want to simply measure how equipment and supplies are moved more efficiently using SM.  Pretty clinical… But, equally as important, especially if we are trying to get the buy in from non-adopters is assessing SM’s ability in supporting societal needs in crisis; facilitating creation of ad hoc community support structures, post- traumatic stress coping mechanisms, and the ease and speed of providing accurate and socially relevant information that conveys the agency’s concerns for the citizens are key areas that perhaps should be focused on initially.

Again, I believe we should be placing a ton of emphasis on the societal elements impacted by using SM in crisis.  Do the clinical research, then package it the right way. Pretend I’m in kindergarten.  Tell me a story. Show me pictures. Make me feel safe.  Then, let me take a nap.

Just Do It

A few days ago I read an advance copy of a paper:  2011 Social Media Emergency Management Camp -Transforming the Response Enterprise, written by Clarence Wardell III and Yee San Su. It summarizes the efforts of a charter group of committed emergency management and social media  experts who gathered in March, 2011 to discuss and plan for the future in using social media in emergency response efforts.  I should have been there…. But, work obligations prevailed.

The paper notes the efforts and challenges in integrating social media into emergency response organizations and efforts.  But, I have to tell ya, it’s a “dry read”, unless you are an academic or a bureaucrat (I’m mostly a bureaucrat if you couldn’t tell). Even so, I consider this an OUTSTANDING summary of our efforts to date, and where we need to focus in the future.  What follows is a free form overview of where I think we are and where we need to go.

As noted, the document is a “heavy read” for most in the emergency response trenches.  With that said, it is an excellent foundation to create simple, easy to understand SM policy direction and guidance. The paper identifies – abstractly – a fundamental conflict in integrating SM into emergency response operations;  Bureaucracy vs. free-form communication.  This conflict rears its ugly head in policy creation, IMS implementation, disseminating information and public engagement.

The three dirty words used by us SM advocates are; “Just Do It!” (Thanks Nike) This is an extremely uncomfortable perspective for most in government and large public sector companies.  Even highly visible public figures struggle with this perspective (just ask Ashton Kutcher’s (@aplusk)  publicist about the current Penn State scandal).

Current guidance on using social media for emergency response is based on limited experience. We need more disasters…. (I’m smiling here)…..before we get it right….wait…who decides if we “get it right”?  Oh yeah, the public decides.  Do you think their expectations will be the same a year from now?  Nah, me neither…

Technologists and sociologists…. We need both to further develop SM platforms and infrastructure and better understand how people behave and interact in virtual groups.  This synergy will shape our future bureaucratic strategy.

Ok, enough of the esoteric stuff.  Time to opine about how SM should be integrated operationally into emergency response.  Hence, my previously blogged “Ten Commandments of SM for Emergency Response”

1.   Thou shalt listen before tweeting.
2. Thou shalt avoid the “retwecho”.
3. Thou shalt not ignore what is being said.
4. Thou shalt not use others words as their own.
5. Thou shalt not post anything that would embarrass you or your mother when printed “above the fold”.
6. Thou shalt understand that SMEM is only one way of communicating (but really effective!).
7. Thou shalt accept that information must be quickly, clearly and frequently distributed.
8. Thou shalt be forgiven for flogging an IC who insists on approving all SM messaging .
9. Thou shalt acknowledge you can’t have enough power dongles and spare batteries.
10. Thou shalt never underestimate the power of the crowd