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It is my firm belief that the future of Social Media for agencies is hand in hand with the increasing mobility of our technology. As more members of our communities consume content on a mobile platform we need to be able to adapt and develop both a delivery system and a system that can pull information we can use to improve our service. Had you asked me a time frame for that to happen, I would have told you its a matter of 3-5 years away.

Then I saw this PSA video about a new feature for an iPhone app…

… and the future is here.

The app was developed by the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District as an enhancement of their existing application that provided district dispatch information. App users who indicate that they are CPR trained are alerted to calls nearby based on geo-location that may require CPR. This type of two-way integration based on geo-location is something, in my opinion, that all agencies should be seriously looking at as a way to increase both their profile in the consciousness of their communities as well as the service they provide. Right now the app is only available for the iPhone.

The San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District is working with the IAFC in the app development and are accepting inquiries from agencies interested in deploying a similar solution. App development inquiries for interested agencies can fill out the form here.

The United States Army has just published their Social Media Handbook. The Handbook covers a variety of topics including:

• Social media standards for Army Leaders
• Checklist for operations security
• Checklist for setting up a social media presence
• Using social media in crisis communications

What I found most interesting was this part from under Using social media in crisis communications:

The best course of action is to leverage already existing social presences. It is important to have a regularly updated channel of communication open between the organization and the key audiences before the crisis hits so they know not only where to find you online, but know that they can trust the information they get.
- US Army Social Media Handbook, January 2011

Now if I didn’t know better, I would say that they have been reading this blog!

What about your agency? Do you need a Social Media Handbook?

There is an interesting story coming out of Connecticut having to do with an employee’s termination of employment from comments made on Facebook. An initial ruling of the National Labor Relations Board says that the employee was improperly terminated.

The woman, who’s identity has not been disclosed, criticized her supervisor on Facebook after being asked to respond to a complaint from a customer. The company, American Medical Response, reportedly has a policy that prohibits employees from making negative remarks about the company and company management.

While on the outside this may look like a sudden swing for responders who have crossed the line in social media, it is important to understand that the reason behind the actual decision was because the NLRB found the company had failed to allow the employee union representation and that conversations with coworkers about what is happening at the workplace is a protected activity both offline and online. This initial ruling does not address the issue about the visibility or participation of those online conversations by those who are not also employed by the company.

There will be an additional hearing in Hartford in January on the matter where the company will be able to present their side and the union representing the woman will also be allowed to present arguments.

We’ve already written extensively about consequences to employees for using social media, your First Amendment Rights and social media, and whether or not employers can stop employees from blogging. Our position remains the same in that agencies need to have a Social Media Policy, educate their responders on the policy, and promote good online conduct.

Source: EMS World

Check out this great event that is being hosted and broadcast by the American Red Cross. The agenda and speakers are impressive. Tune in with us on Ustream and Twitter to listen, watch, and participate.

2010 Emergency Social Data Summit hosted by the American Red Cross at its National Headquarters in Washington, DC on Thursday, August 12, 2010.

This participatory conference seeks to generate a widespread discussion about the issue of emergency social data, and develop a multi-pronged plan to address it.

Learn more 2010 Emergency Social Data Summit.

CAL Fire was recently featured on Fire Department Network News for the addition of their Public Information Officer marked SUV. View the video report below, and pay special attention to what PIO Mike Mohler says about his role and activities regarding Social Media:

From the associated article with my own added emphasis:

CAL FIRE’s PIO vehicles are outfitted with Tough Books. Not only can they get information on the call that they are going to, but they can update their Twitter site, blogs and other websites.

Social media plays a large part in the distribution of public information. Many of CAL FIRE’s followers are gathering information from social media before they turn on the news channel or look in their newspapers.

It’s great seeing agencies understand where information distribution is going. Taking the initiative to serve their communities where they are gathering and to use the community as an asset instead of a liability is the direction we all should be headed.

You can read the CAL Fire San Diego Blog, follow them on Twitter, or check out their Flickr Sets which are quite compelling

As the oil leak at the BP Deepwater Horizon site continues into day 43, there is a now an application available for both the iPhone and Android OS phones to help assist collecting data and sharing it to aid the cleanup and recovery efforts underway along the coastal regions affected by the oil.

Oil Reporter is a pretty simple idea. We want people to share what they see and to allow that information to be shared with everyone. We believe that if people share what they see and that information can be placed on a map, it can help organizations and communities with their response efforts. – OilReporter.org About Page

Oil Reporter takes a page from Twitter‘s base question of “What are you doing?” and changes it into “What do you see?” The application provides a very basic description box for collecting a text narrative about where you are and what you are seeing as it pertains to the areas under siege by the crude oil. The application takes advantage of the multiple media creation tools that smart phones provide and promotes the attachment of photos of your location as a visual reference for your report. For those who are text shy, the application allows you to utilize a slider to rate how much oil you see. The slider asks you to rank the sight of oil from 0 (open water) to 10 (thick oil).

The application does not just ask for information about actual oil on the shores, but also about the area wildlife and what effect the oil is having on their living conditions. There is a drop down box asking for the status of the area’s wildlife and a second slider asking for the reporter to document the effect the oil is having on the area’s wetlands. Both of these more focused inquiries address the main concerns of the citizenry and can become crucial in directing clean up efforts as the situation continues to unfold.

Oil Reporter not only takes information, but reciprocates the exchange by providing an easy option to view their Twitter feed from within the application and they also provide easy access to volunteer opportunities in the four states thus far affected by the oil spill.

Overall, this crowdsourcing initiative via application is utilizing the citizenry instead of considering them as liabilities, which is something that FEMA has been pushing emergency managers towards.

Oil Reporter was created through the joint efforts of Intridea, Appcelerator, and Crisis Commons

The question “Do I Need A Social Media Policy?” is one that more and more Emergency Service Agencies are asking. Roberta Jackson answers it in the May 2010 edition of Best Practices For Emergency Services.

The simple answer is yes… in fact I advise that you must have one!
-Roberta Jackson, Best Practices For Emergency Services May 2010 Vol. 13 No. 5

The article includes the views here at PIOSocialMediaTraining.com, as expressed by Dave Konig, in that there are two key elements to every Social Media Policy:

• The purpose of the policy to address the role of the agency in Social Media
• Providing both permissions and prohibitions from an agency point of view to their providers

We have written a number of blog posts on this very subject, noted the 5 Vital Components of a Social Media Policy, briefly cover it in our free e-mail bootcamp, and have published a Social Media Policy Guide to help you along your path. One of the reasons we devote so much time and energy to the topic of Social Media Policies is because they are THAT important.

So, have we convinced you to start setting a Social Media Policy for your agency yet? If not, then why not?

Need the Social Media Policy Guide For First Responder Agencies? Click here

Click here to subscribe to Best Practices For Emergency Services

Social Media allows us to celebrate a slew of different days that we may not ordinarily recognize. There are completely random blog “Delurking” days where authors call for comments, September 19 (9/19) usually hosts Talk Like A Pirate Day, and March 15 (3/14) is traditionally Pi Day (3.14). This year geo-tagging-check-in service Foursquare has laid claim to April 16 (4/16) and declared it Foursquare Day, the first official Social Media holiday.

Foursquare is a social network that is dependent upon its users using location based applications on their mobile phones to “check-in” at venues around their city. The network awards points for every check-in a user makes and the user with the most check-ins at a specific venue over a running two month period is awarded the title of “Mayor“. This lends a tone of gameplay and creates a level of competition amongst the networks members that is fueled further by users earning badges for completing certain achievements under certain conditions.

One of the more sought after badges for Foursquare users is the Swarm badge. This badge is only earned when 50+ users are checked into the same venue within a limited time period. Business users have used the allure of this badge to increase attendance at their properties, and there is no reason why our agencies can’t do the same to reach out to our community.

Your agency can host an open house, partner with a local business for a fundraiser, or use the opportunity to provide a service such as a blood sugar check or a car seat check for residents. You can also use it as an educational opportunity. As an example, the Tampa Bay Swarm Party will be using #4SQDay to promote Don’t Twive, the “Don’t Tweet And Drive” campaign against distracted driving.

Four Quick Steps To Planning A #4SQDay Event

1. Plan an event with a set time and location that is registered in the Foursquare database
2. Create a flier featuring your agency logo and the Swarm badge to be posted both locally and on your agency hub
3. Use Facebook Events and Twitter to announce and invite your fan base to the event (a lot of businesses have had success using Twitvite, so we recommend you try it out as well )
4. Continue to promote your event before it, during it, and even after it (on Twitter use the official hashtag #4SQDay). Also make sure to submit your event to @4sqday on Twitter or at 4SQDay.com

Using Social Media to organize and promote actual events is just another way to connect with your community and help get your message out there.

Additional Resources: Case Study – How To Use Foursquare To Draw A Crowd, How To Have An Awesome Foursquare Day Swarm

One of the hot topics for both responders and agencies are their rights when it comes to Social Media. With stories coming out such as the South Carolina firefighter terminated for posting a video and the recent termination of two EMTs from Long Island College Hospital (NYC) for using Chatroulette while in their PPE gear, concern about Social Media is on the rise.

Recently Greg and I were guests on the podcast EMS Garage Episode 79: Fight For Your Right. The episode was hosted by Chris Montera and featured Steve Wirth Esq. of Page, Wolfberg & Wirth, LLC. that is a national law firm devoted to EMS law.

The show topic was the rights of an individual when it comes to Social Media and their employment by an agency. The discussion was lively and jam packed with information that can be applied to all public safety and first responders.

Here are some of the highlights from the episode that you may find very surprising:

• The First Amendment of the US Constitution protects our freedom of speech from the government, not from an employer
• Employees of private agencies have no First Amendment protections
• Employees of government agencies have some protections under very specific conditions
• Agencies should put a Social Media Policy in place because as Steve Wirth said, “You can’t expect people to follow the rules if there are no rules.”
• Due to innovations, policies should look to define behavior as opposed to current technological trends
• The employer has every right to control what you do while on duty

If you are a responder wondering what your rights are to engage in Social Media or if you are an Agency wondering what your responsibilities are when dealing with Social Media amongst your personnel, we highly recommend you take the time to listen to the entire episode.

Interested in subscribing to the EMS Garage in iTunes? Just click here and automatically get new episodes downloaded as they become available

The other participants of this podcast episode were:

• Kyle David Bates
• Tim “Rogue Medic” Noonan
• Justin “Happy Medic” Schorr
• Natalie Quebodeaux

Need a Social Media Policy? Get a copy of our Social Media Poilicy Guide to help you on your way

Early Saturday morning I read a story over at Mashable about how a New U.S. Military Policy Opens Up Social Media to the Troops. It’s important to realize that the bans in effect were only applied to access of social networking sites through the military’s internet networks and did NOT restrict personnel from using their personal computers to access these networks or create Social Media. There is in fact a very vibrant Military Blogging Community who have advocated long and hard for this sort of policy on behalf of personnel with no other options for internet access other than the Department of Defense (DoD) networks, such as those deployed overseas.

I found the policy interesting for three specific reasons:

• First, it effectively negates the current Marine Corps ban on Twitter and the longer standing US Army’s ban of Youtube and MySpace, the wording is broad enough to allow local unit commanders to restrict activity on their networks as they see fit
• Secondly, by allowing the use of DoD computers, they are allowing the use of Social Networking sites while technically at work. Now their policies do state that their use for personal reasons must be done without interfering with work duties, but it is still an interesting stance for the military to be taking
• The third and final interesting aspect of the policy is actually in Attachment 2, section 3 parts b and d which promotes and outlines good Social Media behavior through posting relevant and accurate information, and the use of a disclaimer when personal opinions are expressed

Now let’s be honest and remember that the military has been using Social Media effectively for both public relations and recruitment for awhile now. The military understands the power of both positive and negative Social Media, even to the extent that the Air Force had developed a Blog Assessment chart. These policies do not change any of those efforts.

So what does this policy really mean? It shows us that the US Military knows and understands that:

1. With a little guidance your members can be your best ambassadors and most vocal advocates for your agency
2. It is your responsibility to help educate your members as to what is acceptable and what is not acceptable behavior online
3. It is more important to focus on behaviors than on the current state of technology
4. Whether you grant them access or not, people will still connect with each other online in the privacy of their own homes
5. A well written policy today will help mold and shape your Social Media success tomorrow

Social Media is good enough for the US Military and their members… is it good enough for your agency and your members?

Let us know in the comments…

Download 09-026 – Responsible and Effective Use of Internet-based Capabilities (PDF)

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