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Gave a talk about social media for emergency managers to The American Civil Defense Association in Salt Lake City, Utah on October 12th, 2013 The highlights of the talk are presented in the slides here.They were kind enough to invite me to join the board of directors. It was my honor to accept.http://www.tacda.org/ National amateur radio resourcesJournal of Civil DefenseTACDA AcademyAll this and more and membership is only $12 a year. Again, I urge you to join for the sake of you and your family.
Earlier he told me he worked at the Skunk Works(r) on the U-2 and SR-71 for decades. He had my instant respect with that fact. Then he shared stories of those two wonders of American know-how and technological superiority in the half hour before my talk.He came up to me after my social media for emergency managers talk and said: "Give me a copy. I can't tell you who I will be sharing this with, but it will help save many American lives." He helped reaffirm my faith in the basic goodness of the American people. As importantly, he made the main point of my talk: social media is about people, not technology.
I was in Salt Lake City 30 years ago when the Great Salt Lake rose five feet and flooded the valley. Thousands of volunteers, at the prodding of the elders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, filled sand bags and channeled the flood waters through downtown Salt Lake City to Lake Provo. Local people did this. Not the Feds. And they saved countless lives and property by doing so. Here are some links for background.Flood Watch 1983 Utah History to GoSalt Lake City Flood 1983 in FlickrIn 1983 I was in Salt Lake City to observe the flood, the damage, and how they prepared for, responded to, and mitigated the damage before and after. A hydrologist took me out to a cliff outside the city that showed where the American Indians had made marks in the stone for 10,000 years...every 60 years...to mark the flood.
I stood on a mountain above the Utah State Capital Building and saw the flood for miles, from the overflowed chemical waste ponds to channeled river on State Street. It was a marvel to behold.On my trip this time, I went up to the same mountain and took photos and videos of the same scene. It is always stunning to return to a disaster site, thirty years later in this case, and observe the same scene...which is never the same. Here, the development is just incredible. I will create another post to record this change.Here's the takeaway.
When the next "flood of the century" like that in Salt Lake City in 1983 strikes again, emergency managers and the LDS elders have a few more tools (see the slides here for a few pointers) in their toolkit than shovels, heavy plastic bags, and sand.They have social media.And social media, used correctly by emergency managers or elders, can save many lives and prevent property destruction.Just look at how the people of Joplin, MO used social media before, during and after their F5 hurricane of 2010 for a case study of how it is done correctly.
Preparing a Social Media Disaster Strategy
One guy who heard my talk really made my trip to Utah, and the expense, worth it all. Earlier he told me he worked at the Skunk Works(r) on the U-2 and SR-71 for decades. 
I was in Salt Lake City 30 years ago when the Great Salt Lake rose five feet and flooded the valley. Thousands of volunteers, at the prodding of the elders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, filled sand bags and channeled the flood waters through downtown Salt Lake City to Lake Provo. Local people did this. Not the Feds. And they saved countless lives and property by doing so. Here are some links for background.
I stood on a mountain above the Utah State Capital Building and saw the flood for miles, from the overflowed chemical waste ponds to channeled river on State Street. It was a marvel to behold.
When the next "flood of the century" like that in Salt Lake City in 1983 strikes again, emergency managers and the LDS elders have a few more tools (see the slides here for a few pointers) in their toolkit than shovels, heavy plastic bags, and sand.
