Poetslife

The purpose of Poetslife is to promote the art and discipline of American Tactical Civil Defense for families and small businesses and to contribute practical American civil defense preparedness guidance for all Americans through my articles in the The American Civil Defense Association (TACDA.ORG) Journal of Civil Defense and leadership as the volunteer Vice President of TACDA.

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11/01/2022

Civil Defense - Winning Practical and Tactical Steps

Civil Defense has been around since the Old Testament. 
And for good reason.
It will save your life, your family members, your neighbors, your state, and your nation. 
Look it up.
Here is my Civil Defense Radio interview that provides a good introduction the field of civil defense and how it can help you and your family prepare for and respond to natural and manmade disasters.
Here, I will explore practical and tactical steps to win in Civil Defense.

Brief Definition of Civil Defense

Civil defense as used here includes all the tasks taken to ensure the safety of citizens from attack (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) as well as from the negative impacts of natural disasters.
At the very core of civil defense is the protection of children. In the United States, it is mostly done by unpaid volunteers in support of front-line emergency personnel with oversight by the government.
For background, see the Wold War Museum and the Titan Missile Museum websites.

Civil Defense History: WWII to Today

Civil defense for children has been practiced from the beginning of time, but here we will briefly analyze civil defense from the end of World War II until today. I will then offer several ways to help children with various aspects of good civil defense planning, supplies, and tactics.
From the end of World War II through the 1950’s and 1960’s, the emphasis was on training children on how to “duck and cover” or find shelter from incoming nuclear weapons.
There was also an emphasis on building shelters, often in the basement or backyard. Fallout shelters were built because nuclear war at the time were a good possibility and they were one way to reduce the loss of life should the unthinkable happen.
For the Duck and Cover film that was widely shown to children in the 1950’s and 1960’s, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWH4tWkZpPU). For fallout shelter videos, see: History Brief: For Family Fallout Shelters, see the History Brief at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLoiQ9pZjfk)
Today there are many YouTube videos mocking these videos, viewing them as laughable because the nuclear war they prepared for never happened or the shelters and supplies gathered were never going to save anyone.
I disagree.
Given the international tensions at the time and how close we came to nuclear war (I know a Marine who was in Guantanamo Bay and another who was in Florida ready to deploy during the Cuban Missile Crisis…both assure me we were one call away from a nuclear war at that time), those preparations were prudent.
Moreover, preparing to live by preparing to deal with known contingencies (civil defense) has been essential to human survival for thousands of years.
And before laughing too hard, consider that citizens then knew the threats and took measures to prepare to meet and overcome them. How many citizens can say the same today? Witness the panic buying as hurricane Florence approaches.

Physical and Health Civil Defense

Build your immune system with walking, exercise, sunshine, Vitamin D, Play and Fun. This is critical to maintaining your health to counter the effects of virus, germs, bacteria and the other ancient enemies of mankind. 
Rinse your mouth with hydrogen peroxide daily. It kills germs, bacteria and viruses. Notice your dental hygienist now makes you rinse with hydrogen peroxide before working on your teeth. They know.
Back in March of 2020, our local mayor shut down children's playgrounds and put police tape around the equipment.
When I asked him why and told him he was doing the worst thing possible, he said, "This is what Governor Hogan ordered."
When I said he could show courage and stand up to the Governor as the Governor was compromised by CCP money, he threatened me.
I know because I donated $3,000 of my personal emergency fund to supply the Mt. Airy Police and the Maryland State Troopers at the Frederick barracks with proper PPE (gloves, masks, etc.) from North America Rescue.
Meanwhile, this same Governor appeared in the news stating he was supplying Maryland first responders with PPE. False.
Result? Children who should have been building their immune system at the playground instead were isolated at home and played computer games.
As Firesign Theatre Radio taught us: "Everything you know (about the Wuhan Flu) is wrong!"
Now that this pandemic is ending, consider what was done correctly and what was done wrong. These lessons can be applied in the future.
Use goat milk soap: It will melt the fat in the fat anneals of the Wuhan Flu. 
Have an EMP-Hardened thumb drive and a Whistle on your key ring: After manmade or natural disasters, most small businesses go out of business due to the destruction of their data...not the event. Keep an EMP-hardened thumb drive on your key ring. Use it to back up your data daily.
Keep a whistle on your key ring to contact others in an emergency. Purchase a few extras to protect your girlfriend, wife, daughter, niece, aunt, grand mother, etc.
Buy WaterBricks: Do not ever be in this situation: Water. Water. Water...everywhere, but not a drop to drink. Buy WaterBricks now to have plenty of clean water for you, your family and your neighbors. See here and here.
Use My Blog Posts to Learn Natural Disaster CD: If you need to learn about tornadoes, see here and here. For hurricanes, see here and here and here. For fires, see here. For snow storms, see here. 
Drive to a fire house if your car or truck breaks down
Fire houses have men who know engines, electrical systems, software, tools, and what you need to get your truck or car fixed fast. 
Drive to a clinic or hospital if your body breaks down: Hospitals and clinics have men and women who know the mechanics of the body and healing and what you need to get your body fixed quick.
Practice Smiling: You can actually trick the brain into positive thoughts by faking a smile, kind of a variation on fake it until you make it. I kid you not. Practice smiling when at your computer, watching TV and videos, or driving.
Your body sends messages to the brain of happiness, endorphins are released, and you prevent anxiety, depression, and suicide. Vets...pay attention.
Just like a shot of botox can fool the brain into happiness, avoid anxiety, and PTSD, so too with just smiling. Try it for a week. You will be amazed at the results.
It is OK to Cry: Grieve when you have to. That includes crying to get out your physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual, and other pain. 
God gave you a gift to relieve you of the pain...crying.
In disasters, fights, combat, and assaults I have been in, it is not unusual for the best to absorb the pain, ignore the emotions, and get the mission accomplished. 
But the pain does not dissipate unless you work to make it go away.
Crying is a valuable tool to do that. Choose your time. Grieve. And you will be able to move on.

Spiritual Civil Defense

God can do for you what you cannot do for yourself: No one lasts long in Civil Defense without depending on God's help. 
Basically, if you depend on your own skill stack and do not tap God's Skill Stack, you will burn out
So...Rejoice always. Pray always. Rejoice always. Pray always. Rejoice always. Pray always. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
Share your Civil Defense gifts with others: It is the Golden Rule. 
You have a knowledge that saves lives and property. Share it with others. 
You serve with and through others in Civil Defense as in all earthly pursuits. Loners do not last long in Civil Defense. 
Practice Chivalry: Sacrifice for the women and children you love.
You survive with and through others: In manmade and natural disasters, loners go first. Do not be a loner. Reach out to others. More importantly, know who the others are who you need to survive and establish relationships with them now.
Catholics know your faith: Remember the 7 sacraments, practice them, and enjoy the grace-filled life and joy of being Christian. 
Go to Mass. Receive Communion. Make a good confession. Get your children and grandchildren baptized.
And...there are sacramentals that can help you get through. Say your rosary. Wear a scapular and blessed saints medals along with the BVM medal. Listen to Father Altman. Listen to Taylor Marshall. Avoid the Marxist Jesuit pope. Keep FAITH before fear.
Depend on Jesus. The government will not save you. 
FEMA will not save you. Do not be that guy in the 9th Ward in New Orleans saying, "Where's FEMA? Where's FEMA? Where's the Man!" 
The Man is not coming. 
Politicians and bureaucrats will not save you or your family. 
You must save yourself. 
This is a Civil Defense fact I have witnessed for 35 years.
Take measures to prepare yourself and your family for natural and manmade disasters NOW. 
They will continue to strike as they have for thousands of years. 
Chance favors the prepared.

Strategic Civil Defense 

Introduction to Civil Defense: Here is my Civil Defense Radio interview that provides a good introduction the field of civil defense and how it can help you and your family prepare for and respond to natural and manmade disasters.
Visit the National Museum of Civil Defense to discover the rich history of Civil Defense planning, equipment, strategy and policies in the United States.
We just had our first NMCD board of directors meeting to create a valuable experience to learn the art and everyday practice of Civil Defense.
The NMCD Facebook page is absolutely brimming with Civil Defense history, equipment, strategy, tactics and knowledge. 
Visit the NMCD Facebook page today.

Details will Save Your Life: When I did physical training in the United States Air Force Officer Training School in San Antonia, Texas, a young enlisted guy would lead us from a stage. Over the public address system, he would repeat over and over again, "DETAILS WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE!!!" .
Thirty five years later I have learned the truth of that saying.
Many times.
Details like wearing the proper foot gear on your feet to carry you quickly during a manmade or natural disaster.
It is essential to your safety and life. 
For example, I use Keen boots and alpaca inserts to assure proper footing in any situation. Both are American made.
It is a small detail, but comfortable, sturdy, dependable boots and a soft, germ fighting insert to wick away sweat are essential to make sure I can perform at an optimal level in an emergency.
Think of other details you need to address to survive, make a list, and address those details.
Your family depends on you so prepare in advance.
"DETAILS WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE!!!"

Poetslife Civil Defense Resources

TACDA Resources

TACDA.ORG has disaster education coursework, years of the Journal of Civil Defense you can research, a blog, and many, many resources you can use to learn Civil Defense for you and your family. Please do.


Get some historical perspective about what we are going through in the United States now. It happened in France long ago.


P.S. Here are fun atomic posters. 


Posted by Poetslife at Tuesday, November 01, 2022
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2/08/2022

Robert Scoble Blog How To

Naked Conversations: The Book

NOTE: I wrote this blog post about how to write blogs in 2006. Now it is 2023. As this post still gets many hits each day, I moved it to the top of Poetslife. Enjoy, all you new bloggers. As blogs have stood the test of time, it is good to review the  fundamentals of creating one.

What is a blog? 
What do they do? 
Who has one and how do they use it? 
Why do they matter? 
How will they change the world? Business? America? Europe? Asia? Africa? Latin America? 
Should you have a blog?

Find the answers to these and other questions in naked conversations: how blogs are changing the way businesses talk with customers...and everyone else for that matter.
Robert Scoble (left) and Shel Israel (right) have given us a gift: naked conversations: how blogs are changing the way businesses talk with customers. Kudos to both for trying to describe, analyze, and provide a handbook about blogs and the blogosphere.

Successful Blog Traits...Scoble and Israel give five tips for blogs that succeed:
  • Talk...don't sell
  • Post often...and be interesting
  • Write about issues you know...and care about
  • Blogging saves money...but costs time
  • You get smarter by listening to what people tell you
Since the book was published in 2006, corporate blogs have multiplied. Oracle's blog shows a corporate example and JoHo blog demonstrates a brilliant tech blog.

The Blogs
For a list of the blogs noted in naked conversations, see: NC blogs, which is the blog where they wrote the book before they wrote the book. The collective wisdom of the blogosphere made this a much better book...which illustrates a central tenet of their book. And the circle...

Techcrunch Tracking Web 2.0 by Michael Arrington gave a naked conversations (NC) book-signing party for 400 on February 17, 2006. Here are some blogs that discuss the event:
Robert Scoble, Dave Winer, Scott Beale, Dave McClure, Tracy Sheridan, Alex Moskalyuk, Robert Anderson, Dan Farber Pictures, Nik Cubrilovic, Jeremiah Owyang, Mark Jen, Rafe Needleman, Renee Blodgett, Chris Mullins, Mike Davidson, Brian Oberkirch, Joseph A. di Paolantonio, Jeff Clavier #2, James Gross, Alexander Muse, Oliver Starr, Rick Segal, Podtech, Max Kiesler, Dion Hinchcliffe, Narendra Rocherolle, George Nimeh, Om Malik, Dan Farber , Susan Mernit, The Conversation, 
The Post Money Value, Like it Matters, Jeff Clavier's Software Only, tech crunch, gapingvoid, ZDnet, pod-serve, nik, TechCrunch5, Crunchnotes, Diva Marketing Blog, weblogs work, stoweboyd, down the avenue, TwistImage, James (Australia), No Soap, Radio!, Monkey Notions, Conscious Connections, Werblog, Digestivo Cultural (Brazil), ValleyWag - (very funny photo captions), Rocketboom (the show), Rocketboom (TechCrunch5 NC party video), Grigo's Blog (China), Teachers Lounge, Church of the Customer, Bernd, Hebig, Shel, and on and on and....

Washington Post NC Book Blog Interview 2/24/2006

Robert Scoble's list of blogs to visit each day includes: engadet, gapingvoid, instapundit, buzzmachine, and daringfireball

Shel Israel's list of blogs to visit each day includes: whatsnextblog, mcgeesmusings, newmediamusings, hyperorg, englishcut

That the book received the imprimatur of John Wiley & Sons, the working technical writer's continual education graduate school, makes it credible for me. 
Blogging has certainly come a long way from the early years. 
With over 27 million out there, here are the New York Magazine blessed top 50. 

Although you may not go from blogs to riches, Scoble and Israel give you a strategy for how to create a blog that may not make the top 50, but will have value for you, your business, and others...nonetheless.

Chock-Full-A-Blogs
Naked Conversations is chock-full-a-blogsyou can use. 
Such blog addresses are conveniently found as footers at the bottom of many pages. You might want to read the book seated at your computer so you can check out the myriad of blogs they thought good enough to include from the millions that are now out there. 

Here are a few they mention by chapter.

In Chapter 4: Direct Access:  
http://www.ernietheattorney.net/, http://betweenlawyers.corante.com/, http://www.lessig.org/blog/, http://nip.blogs.com/, http://www.okpatents.com/phosita/, http://www.promotetheprogress.com/, www.rethinkip.com, sethgodin.typepad.com, customerevangelists.typepad.com/blog, designsponge.blogspot.com, http://www.alyson.ca/, http://www.whatsnextblog.com/, http://www.bloombergmarketing.blogs.com/, http://www.allmarketersareliars.com/

On page 172 under Tip #2: Read a bunch of blogs before you start, they list: www.pubsub.com, www.bloglines.com/citations, www.feedster.com, www.icerocket.com, www.technorati.com; and under Tip #3: Keep it simple. Keet it focused, they list blogsearch.google.com and www.larkware.com/index.html. Also, they talked to hundreds of bloggers to write the book and in Acknowledgements the list even more, such as: radio.weblogs.com/0108035, whatsnextonline.com, www.collaborativemarketing.com, and www.bizdrivenlife.net.
Blogs are even listed with the book inside cover blurbs: chris.pirillo.com, www.micropersuasion.com, www.whatsnextblog.com, www.gapingvoid.com, blog.softtechvc.com, www.guidewiregroup.com, nevon.typepad.com/nevon, randyh.wordpress.com/, technosight.com/blog, and www.cameronreilly.com

[See Crisis Blogging: risks, rewards and the rapidly changing world of best practices at Global PR Blog Week 2.0 for a first-rate analysis of how blogs now affect how a business or government successfully deals with or botches (read Katrina) any given crisis.]

N.B. busy executives...to my eye, this book includes an even rarer gift...a Subject Index created by a human, not a word search, so what you are looking for is clearly listed and easy to find. For example, under blogging it lists: advantages 44-45, culture 150-152, employment dangers 188-190, findable 28, Google and 28-29, linkable 28, publishable 28, six pillars 28, social 28, syndicatable 28, trends 112, viral 28.

What Are Blogs 
Naked Conversations explores why blogs exist, namely, to help people, many of whom own or work for a business, to talk, to learn from each other, and to connect for mutual advantage. Like the ancient white oak, we are all connected. Some are in the roots, others in the branches, and others in the leaves. 
I am a poet and I like metaphors. 
For me, the blog is the trunk that allows those who are leaves to connect to those in the roots and branches who would never have known of each other in the past...and to grow together by that knowing.
In the Philadelphia neighborhood where I grew up, there was one mother who connected everyone and who knew how to connect you with anyone. 
The guy who owned the corner grocery or hardware store 
or the postmaster at the post office performed a similar role. They were the people who took the time and learned the skills to keep everyone connected. That world is gone, but blogs can do the same on a scale unimaginable just a few years ago. And for business, your blog (or lack of one) can determine if you succeed or fail. 
naked conversations willgive you the blog tools to connect your product or service to people who will then connect you to more people than you can ever reach through traditn't like the tree metaphor you have to concede the point: blogs allow a kind of communication ional marketing, sales, advertising.
Even if you dothat is fun, gile, intellectually stimulating, and rewarding...if done correctly and successfully.
For a company, you can add thaat blogs can add to your profits if they are done honestly and capably. As well, they can result in a severe loss of profits if they are done dishonestly, incompetently, or poorly. 
The choice is yours. For how to build, maintain and promote a business blog successfully, read naked conversations by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel.
This is one of those rare manuals...a clear, concise, consistent and lucid manual....a "how to create a useful blog" manual that is beautifully written, easy to understand, intelligent, and well organized...the handbook that will give home office and corporate office workers the tools to create, communicate and illucidate.naked conversations contains a cornacopia of suggestions for how to do it right and many examples of how to do it wrong. 
They skip the "Theory of Operation" by referring you to the Cluetrain Manefesto and customers, it's sellers and buyers, to the people inside and outside...quickly deliver the meat and potatoes of how a business can talk with its employees efficiently, through a blog. 
What a newspaper, telephone, TV and the old media did in centuries past, the blog is doing now...but with many more digital hyperspace features in nanotime and with you doing the talking rather than being talked at.

Chapters
Chapters and subjects covered in naked conversations include:
Forward by Tom Peters
Introduction: Of Bloggers and Blacksmiths
What's Happening
Souls of the Borg
Everything Never Changes
Word of Mouth on Steroids
Direct Access
Little Companies, Long Reach
Consultants Who Get It
Survival of the PublicistsBlogs and National Cultures
Thorns in the Roses

Blogging Wrong & Right
Doing It Wrong
Doing It Right
How to Not Get Dooced
Blogging in a Crisis

The Big Picture
Emerging Technology
The Conversational Era
Acknowledgements [very useful...many cutting edge blogs listed...innovative]
Name Index [crisp and lean]
Subject Index [brief and clean]

The Authors
Shel Isreal has developed launch strategies for Sound Blaster PowerPoint, FileMaker, dBase, Paradox, Mapinfo and counseled HP, MCI, Price Waterhouse. Robert Scobel helps run Microsoft's Channel 9, which is worth a visit. 
It is one of the few places you can get an inside view of how programmers, developers designers, geeks...and others who must work together in a corporate world to create a brave, new world and for insights for why and how they create it.

[When I worked on a very complex semiconductor manufacturing clean-room plasma tool, I suggested that we video the development process for the service technicians to help them service and maintain the tool. 
The idea never got past the director because he was not a fan of knowledge sharing with others, even the engineers on his staff. 
My hat is off to Microsoft for creating this tool for their workers and for the wider world.]

Shel Isreal and Robert Scobel have illuminated many of the mysteries and the promise of blogs in naked conversatations. Take it out to your front porch, sit a spell, take a few hours and just read for the pure joy of reading a well-written book. This is a book to enjoy with a pen to mark up what you will need to remember and refer to again and again as you work on your own blog. 

If I had this book when I started this blog...only two months ago...I would have used it as a primer and made fewer false starts and pages I later eliminated.

You may not think blogs matter. 
Many more think poetry does not matter. 
Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood said T.S. Eliot, Dante, 1920. 
So, too, blogs.

Blogs are On-Line Meetings 24/7
Let Isreal and Scobel show you how with this very readable guidebook. Blogs are the riparian area between the river and the land where you can plant a few trees and watch them grow over the years. They are growing and meeting all day and all night, like trees.

Meeting
Here, ideas float mid-air
as open targets of word,
Cryptic and terse, that fire
machine-gun rapid
To take them out...one...
two...three...four...
Until at 5, an idea stays,
deflects all shots,
Floats higher and higher
and settles back
Approved, accepted, accurate
and written down
By consensus and commitment
and nods of heads
As certain as a hundred
thousand years ago
The light of electricity replaces
the light of the sun.
Remember: the idea for fire
started as humbly.

Wikiopedia's Blogosphere Defined
Wikiopedia defines the term Blogosphere as: The notion of a blogosphere is an important concept for understanding blogs. Blogs themselves are just instances of a particular formatting choice, whereas the blogosphere is a social phenomenon. What differentiates blogs from webpages or forums is that blogs can be part of a shifting Internet-wide social network formed by two-way links between different blogs. You link to my articles and I'll link to your articles, and we will both seem to be more interesting.The Subject Index

Shifts Happen and a Story 
Be prepared for some blog links moving on to another server, being abandonded, or not available when you look for them. 
Shifts happen...and so your the blog listed in the book may not display. Page 74 states "...Target the number-two retail chain..." and on page 133 "When Scoble spoke with Target executives, they told him that blogging was unlikely to start up inside America's fourth [-] largest retailer..." This was the only inconsistency I could find in the book (and who knows and who really cares if Target's is two or four). 
Point is, with such attention to detail, they did an exceptional job of creating a work that will help create a blogging civilization.
After finding this one minor inconsistency in their work, and given the cogent analysis, cherry picking of useful blogs, definitions of blog policies, plans, procedures and practices, I think Scoble and Israel well demonstrate in their tome the very requirements they list as required of a good blog: authenticity, usefulness, integrity, connectivity to other blogs, passion, authority,simplicity, focus, accessibility, storytelling, link...link...link, reflect the real world and maintain a referrers log.

In essence, they followed their own advice about how to create blogs when creating this book, and the work is easier to use and use again because of that. It will be assigned reading in business courses by next semester...see The Applied Blogging Workshop for how this is already happening.

When I could not find an introductory blog book at the Barnes & NobleComplete Idiot's Guide to Creating a Web Page & Blog" or "Naked Conversations" in the business section, my immediate response was, "The latter." (And I write manuals for a living and often counter an engineers comments that "No one reads manuals anymore!" with the reply, "What about the Complete Idiot's Guide's? They're manuals and they sell in the millions. Someone's reading them.)

When they guy took the time to walk me to where the book was in the business section, selected it, and handed it to me, besides being impressed that he demonstrated the rare courtesy of customer service, I knew in a few seconds this was the definitive book on blogs I had been searching for. 

If you want to know what blogs are and how to create one, may you discover this paper blog book that will enrich your digital blog experience.

Reading this work was like the experience I had when a Lockheed Martin Vice President of Corporate Communications in Bethesda, MD in 1997 was too busy to review a software disc a new company called Netscape sent him and tossed it to me (a temp) to analyze. I spent three days jumping from website to website without having to type in five lines of very dense code as with the Sailor system I was using then to get to the Internet.

I can still remember how I received a graduate-school level introduction to the possibilities of the Internet in those three days. It felt good to finally get the first clear understanding of what this internet buzz was all about. 

Unfortunately, I could not get the stock end of what Netscape washttps://inside.com/campaigns/inside-security-2017-06-08-2176https://inside.com/campaigns/inside-security-2017-06-08-2176 all about because, as the Brown & Co. investment banker who was one of those selling the initial public offering told me curtly, I was not a "serious" investor because I could not raise at least $50,000 in five minutes in order to bid on the stock.

My thanks to Scoble and Isreal for providing the wellspring for future blogs.

Common Sense Corporate Business Blogging Policy 
Here is an IBM corporate blogging policy link to a .pdf that lists blogging guideliness as dependable, useful, and worthwhile as the old IBM Selectric. You might find these IBM blogging guideliness useful in creating your own corporate blogging guidelines. (Ah...the IBM Selectric...now there was a poet and writer's typewriter.) 

Here is a sample:
Guidelines for IBM Bloggers: Executive Summary
1. Know and follow IBM's Business Conduct Guidelines.
2. Blogs, wikis and other forms of online discourse are individual interactions, not corporate communications. IBMers are personally responsible for their posts. Be mindful that what you write will be public for a long time protect your privacy.
3. Identify yourself name and, when relevant, role at IBM when you blog about IBM or IBM-related matters. And write in the first person. You must make it clear that you are speaking for yourself and not on behalf of IBM.
4. If you publish a blog or post to a blog and it has something to do with work you do or subjects associated with IBM, use a disclaimer such as this: The postings on this site are my own and dont necessarily represent IBMs positions, strategies or opinions. 
5. Respect copyright, fair use and financial disclosure laws.
6. Don't provide IBMs or another's confidential or other proprietary information.
7. Don't cite or reference clients, partners or suppliers without their approval.8. Respect your audience. Don't use ethnic slurs, personal insults, obscenity, etc., and show proper consideration for others' privacy and for topics that may be considered objectionable or inflammatory such as politics and religion.
9. Find out who else is blogging on the topic, and cite them.
10. Don't pick fights, be the first to correct your own mistakes, and don't alter previous posts without indicating that you have done so.
11. Try to add value. Provide worthwhile information and perspective.

Shel Israel's Reply to an e-mail I sent him: February 17, 2006 The Poet Understands what Our Book is About
Bruce Curley, a senior technical writer, has reviewed our book on his blog, poetslife. It's favorable but that is not why I'm writing about him. He sent me an email yesterday that moved me. It read in part:
Just yesterday, my wife sent me for paint swatch samples to the new Benjamin Moore paint store in Mt. Airy, MD where I live. I told the owner about your book, my review, and how her business might benefit if she read about the englishcut blog you describe. She said she was going to read my review and look up the book. I also told a tailor at English-American in Westminster, MD where they still make suits by hand, about englishcut.
I relay this brief story to say your book spreads by wordofmouthosphere as well as by the blogosphere, proving one of the main points you make in naked conversations.
Robert and I wrote Naked Conversations with that paint store in mind, as well as that international corporations. We get a steady flow of bloggers telling us that the stories we covered are, for the most part, old hat to them. 
Of course, they are. We see blogging veterans as our collaborators, not our target audience. 
We hope that we have given blogging enthusiasts everywhere a tool to spread the word. 
We hope you bloggers serve as word-of-mouth champions to those businesses who don't yet understand the power of social media.
Bruce, yesterday was a tough day for me for a lot of reasons. 
Thanks. You made it a lot better.
And yours mine, Shel. Thanks for all the hard work.

This red-tailed hawk was doing circles out out in my yard as I finished this blog book review...a good sign. 
As the French poet Valery reminded us, "A poem is never completed...it is only abandoned." 

So, too, with this naked conversations book and blog. It continues in other blogs, on iPods, in foreign lands. But the majesty of that bird is so incredible it becomes this blogs watermark...as this work takes flight to create good blogs and blogging relationships.
Posted by Poetslife at Tuesday, February 08, 2022
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12/09/2021

Social Media Lessons from the Joplin Tornado

There were many lessons about how to use social media to save lives and reduce the damage to property before, during and after a huge tornado hit Joplin, Missouri on May 11, 2011. Here are some of mine.
(Photo: A destroyed helicopter lies on its side in the parking lot of the Joplin Regional Medical Center. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
  • Have Facebook page up and running BEFORE the disaster so:People can use it to locate relatives, find friends, confirm who is alive and who has perished
  • First responders, police, mayor and other authorities can communicate with the public using social media tools (Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and many others)
  • Identify and educate about looters, criminals, scams
  • Official volunteers know where to go and what to do
  •  Citizen volunteers know what to gather and how to deliver it
  •  Possessions can be gathered and returned to their owners
For more background, Mike Smith, the author of When the Sirens were Silent: How a Warning System Failed a Community has a first-rate analysis of how false tornado warnings mean many ignore warnings for real tornados here. Also, see Warnings: The True Story of How Science Tamed Nature.

Each of these lessons, and others, can be found in the extensive Joplin Facebook postings below.
Here are links to provide background about the disaster. It is well worth visiting these websites now that time has passed. There are many recovery and getting-back-to-normal lessons to be found there.
http://www.weather.com/outlook/videos/tornado-orphans-20723#20723
http://www.joplinmo.org/
http://www.facebook.com/joplinmo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0HVnbyezws
[Photos courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/zeitlosimagery as first found on
Here are examples of official press releases that can be used as templates for communicating with the public.

Tornado Information

REMINDER, Police and fire officials are strongly encouraging anyone who does not have a home in the affected area to please stay clear of the damage site. Search and rescue operations will continue throughout the evening and emergency personnel needs full, unobstructed access to do their jobs. Thank you for your cooperation. And please help spread the word.
- The Joplin Tornado Sirens will be TESTED at 10:30am Tuesday morning to ensure that they are working.
- Missouri American Water has issued a boil order for all water to be ingested or consumed in the City of Joplin and will continue until further notice. Bring your water to a rolling boil for at least 3 minutes.
Links
City of JoplinFacebook Page - Most current City information being posted there first.

Safe & Well Website - Red Cross, Safe and Well Website. You can report yourself Safe and Well & search for loved ones. State of Missouri - Joplin Tornado Information

www.disasterassistance.gov - FEMA Disaster Assistance
Residents and business owners affected by the storm can apply for assistance through FEMA, with up to $30,200 available for each individual. Visit www.disasterassistance.gov, call 800-621-FEMA (3362), or register via smartphone at m.FEMA.gov.
(Emergency personnel walk through a neighborhood. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

City of Joplin News Releases

Tuesday, May 24th - FEMA Assistance Residents and business owners affected by the storm can apply for assistance through FEMA, with up to $30,200 available for each individual. Visit www.disasterassistance.gov, call 800-621-FEMA (3362), or register via smartphone at FEMA.gov.

Tuesday, May 24th - 7:15am - Update Press Conference scheduled for 9:00am today.
The City of Joplin would like to announce that a news conference will be held today at 9:00 a.m. at Cunningham Park, located just east of the intersection of 26th and Maiden Lane.

Attending the news conference will be Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr; Joplin Fire Chief Mitch Randles; and possibly FEMA representatives. For additional updates, citizens are encouraged to visit www.facebook.com/cityofjoplin.https://www.facebook.com/joplinmo/?tn-str=k*F

Monday, May 23rd - 12:01pm - Update Press Conference scheduled for 3:00pm today.
City of Joplin Press Conf to update status of search &rescue efforts in aftermath of tornado tragedy will be held at 3 pm on Mon, May 23 @Joplin Armory, 2000 W 32nd St. City is working to keep high damage area clear of unnecessary traffic in order to provide efficient services to our citizens.

Monday, May 23rd - morning - Joplin Boil Order
Missouri American Water has issued a boil order for all customers in the Joplin area.
Monday, May 23rd - 4:01am - Wellness Check hotline
The City of Joplin understands the concern many have about their loved ones who endured the tornado that traveled through the middle of Joplin at approximately 5:45 p.m. Sunday, May 22nd. Citizens can now check on the status of their friends and family by calling 417-659-5464
Many homes and businesses have been affected, and Joplin Mayor Mike Woolston has declared a local disaster due to the damage of this storm. The City is also working under a state disaster declaration..
Monday, May 23 - 3:01am - Volunteers for Tornado Disaster should report to MSSU's Recreation Center
A significant tornado came through the middle section of Joplin near 6 p.m. on Sunday, May 22nd. Many homes and businesses have been affected, and Joplin Mayor Mike Woolston has declared a local disaster due to the damage of this storm. The City is also working under a state disaster declaration.
Many people have contacted the City of Joplin to volunteer assistance to the victims of the storm. ALL citizen volunteers should report to the Recreation Center at Missouri Southern State University. Volunteers' services are appreciated, but to be effective, will need to be coordinated through this centralized location.
Citizens are reminded that the American Red Cross, in cooperation with the City, has set up a shelter at Missouri Southern State University in the Leggett & Platt Center. The City and Joplin R-8 are coordinating transportation to help those left homeless due to tornado. People can go to the following locations and a bus will take them to the shelter. People should go to:
1. Junge Stadium on 13th Street;
2. Forest Park Baptist Church, 7th & Range Line
3. Lowe's 24th & Range Line
4. Vintage Stock, 32nd & Main.
Because of the severe damage to many buildings, people are advised to check with their schools and/or employers about Monday's schedule to learn if the facilities are open. Many places are affected and will be closed. This includes Joplin Municipal Court and Joplin Public Schools.

The City has activated its Emergency Operations Center, and is working closely with American Red Cross, emergency management services and medical personnel of numerous surrounding communities to assess the damage and assist those hurt in this storm. We appreciate everyone's patience, and ask if you do not have to be out in the City to please stay home and help your neighbors and friends as needed.

Sunday, May 22: 10:55pm - NOTICE ON TORNADO DAMAGE IN JOPLIN
(A cross stands atop a church that was severely damaged. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
The City of Joplin understands that many families and homes have been affected by the tornado. Joplin Mayor Mike Woolston has declared a local disaster due to the damage of this storm. The City has activated its Emergency Operations Center, and is working closely with American Red Cross, emergency management services and medical personnel of numerous surrounding communities to assess the damage and assist those hurt in this storm. We appreciate everyone's patience, and ask if you do not have to be out in the City to please stay home and help your neighbors and friends as needed.
For those needing shelter, the American Red Cross has set up a shelter at Missouri Southern State University in the , Leggett & Platte Center. The City and Joplin R-8 are coordinating transportation to help those left homeless due to tornado. People can go to the following locations and a bus will take them to the shelter. People should go to:
1. Junge Stadium on 13th Street;
2. Forest Park Baptist Church, 7th & Rangeline
3. Lowe's 24th & Rangeline
4. Vintage Stock, 32nd & Main.
I copied the Facebook Postings below on May 24, 2011 from:

http://www.facebook.com/joplinmo?sk=wall&filter=12 
They are worth reading because the capture lessons from the critical 72 hours after the event. They are especially useful for what people offer besides advice, like where to donate wheel chairs for the elderly who need them and where pet owners can find locate their pets.

May 24, 2011 Joplin Facebook postings:

Lauryn Marie I am with the River Valley Leader News Organization and just got off the phone with the Salvation Army. Lt. Josh Robinett says that the donations are all very thoughtful, but they are being overrun. Monetary donations are the best way to help with the diaster relief. There is a link on the on salvationarmy.org website to donate. If you would like more news check on rivervalleyleader.com
Roya Lorge I live in Clarksville, TN, but Springfield is my hometown and I want to help. I am taking donations here in TN and plan on driving them down this weekend. I know that almost anything would be appreciated, but I need to know what are the greatest necessities as of right now, besides water. Thanks! 
Amy Martin Conner shoes, water, baby supplies, personal hygenie, and food items that are individually wrapped are needed.
Roya Lorge Thank you!
Alexanderea C. Hamilton Tide Loads of Hope and Duracell Truck will be open to the public beginning Thurs. at the Walmart on 7th St in Joplin MO. The Duracell truck has power stations that enable people to charge devices and use PC's to communicate to their families they are safe (7am-7pm). Tide Loads of Hope is a mobile laundromat that washes 300 loads a day! Please share this with anyone that may need this
Free day care for children of volunteers at Carterville Christian Church. Please call 417 540 9029 for more info on dropping kids off, driving directions or volunteering to work the day care.
Josette Sacco
How can I help? I am in Chicago and I am ready to ask around work and all my friends to donate cloths, supplies, etc. Can I ship them? Is there anything specific you are looking for?
Teresa Beck i know that are asking for bottle water, no one is allowed to drink the water in joplin, also need diapers ,blankets,pillows , canned goods too
Alabama 2011 Tornado Lost or Missing Josette, you may want to check out this Google Document. Organizations are listing locations for drop offs there. http://goo.gl/9N0LS Truckers are volunteering their time to transport, also. 
(A man carries a young boy who was rescued after being trapped in his home. (AP Photo/Mike Gullett)
Patricia Newsom Cedillo
Anyone know of a place to mail donated clothes and such? I'm in Texas.
Amber Spence Check The Bridge they are coordinating with a lot od donators.
Amber Spence of donators sorry!
Kerry Pece Try contacting someone from this site http://goo.gl/9N0LS
Kristy Charleen Trimmell
I have clean childrens clothing ranging from 12 months - 5T, Teen sizes and adult. Live in Springfield, MO...where can I take these to?
Kerry Pece Try this website http://goo.gl/9N0LS
Kristine Hutchison Durkin
All subway restaurants in the independence missouri area, and the subway in liberty mo walmart are accepting all non-monetary donations. Please inbox me if you have any questions.
Crystal Combs-Wicklund likes this.
Zackary Fields
Who in Joplin can tell me about - ?
1. the roads and access to the city
2. stores that are open, we can send gift cards if we know where to get them from
Jan Ashley April Hoth Reeves and Timothy Reeves will be filling their Church van from Town and Country Christian Church in Okmulgee, OK this week to take to Joplin. Personal items, WATER, diapers are most needed. Look into your stockpiles and see what you can give. Call me or their number is 405-614-0076. They would like the donations by Wednesday. Thanks. Also, gloves, tarps, trash bags and totes are needed. They are taking them to April's Parents Church to be distributed. 
where in springfield can i drop off items? does anyone need clothes (maternity or baby)
Jennifer Schuck Raby Q 1021 studios in the food for less shopping center
Mitsya Marsupial the bistro market parking lot downtown.
Donna M Meek I need to know if we can deliver supplies, we have some 4-H clubs collecting
Mitsya Marsupial the local officials are begging people not to just sow up. contact your area's red cross or united way & let them coordinate with the city for delivery
Donna M Meek Thank you!!
Kristyn Bolin My husband works for MoDOT about an hour away from Joplin - just heard they are heading out with all their dump trucks and chainsaws! :)
The Kitchen, IncThe Kitchen will be collecting personal care items through Friday for our neighbors in Joplin. Please bring these items to our Administration Building, 420 E Pacific Springfield, MO between the hours of 9:00 am and 4:00 pm. For more info please call 417-837-1500 and ask to speak with Stephanie or Kippie. Items to donate: tooth brushes, tooth paste, shampoo, soap, deodorant, etc. Thank you!
Alicia MorrisCBC is in need of type O negative. Please consider donating blood at this time and give the gift of life!
Jaclyn Gittings At this time Show-Me Response remains on stand-by. Local and regional resources are being utilized. The remaining hospital does not require additional staff at this time. Should that change, we will call up volunteers through Show-Me Response. At this time we ask that our volunteers please be patient, get plenty of rest. Please do not self deploy. (Residents begin digging through the rubble of their home. (AP Photo/Mike Gullett)
Steve Elliott Did Sagmont Baptist Camp get hit?
Leslie Cheesman Rovero We are in Los Angeles.... who do we contact in your area to send clothes and other stuff to you guys!!??? God Bless and know you are all in our prayers. 
Janet Svendsen Bain May be helpful for everyone in surrounding areas collecting items of what is needed, wanted, desired so people can do what they can to send those items...
The Kitchen, Inc The Kitchen will be collecting personal care items through Friday for our neighbors in Joplin. Please bring these items to our Administration Building, 420 E Pacific Springfield, MO between the hours of 9:00 am and 4:00 pm. For more info please call 417-837-1500 and ask to speak with Stephanie or Kippie. Items to donate: tooth brushes, tooth paste, shampoo, soap, deodorant, etc. Thank you! 
Jaclyn GittingsAt this time Show-Me Response remains on stand-by. Local and regional resources are being utilized. The remaining hospital does not require additional staff at this time. Should that change, we will call up volunteers through Show-Me Response. At this time we ask that our volunteers please be patient, get plenty of rest. Please do not self deploy
Shawn Lee Defiant Wood‎.lookin for scott morris, chris miller, stormy miller, and chris elseworth. anyone that knows them from my joplin friends needs to help me find them. also lookin for liz eads.Do you know if any organization is collecting canes, walkers and wheelchairs for the elderly?
Philip Struble Weather update: More storms and possible tornadoes tonight. Highest risk for the Joplin area will be between 9-11pm. Looks like the highest possibility of tornadoes is in an area extending from Salina to southern Oklahoma and from south central Kansas to the 4State area. Stay alert. I will keep the updates coming
Tricia Burg Oh no I hope and pray the weatherman is wrong.
Sara Winne Foster Would the admin of this site please contact me when you get a chance? We are setting up a website of resources and I would like to connect you with it. Please write when you have a chance with your contact info so I can give you more information. Thanks.
Brian Dorman http://audiofarm.org/audiofiles/157642 minutes ago
Kim Slaughter Photos of found pets from the tornado: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.185777121473446.55534.185768248141000
Alabama 2011 Tornado Lost or Missing After recently going through this, please be careful where you donate money. Unfortunately, there are many who are not honest and will take advantage of this tragedy.
I know most people list the ARC, but there are many more legitimate organizations who will take and distribute money locally without the large overhead of a corporation or the risk of being scammed.
Kristyn Bolin My husband works for MoDOT about an hour away from Joplin - just heard they are heading out with all their dump trucks and chainsaws! :)
Teri Wheeler OK YA'LL I CALLED THEM ABOUT THIS PAGE NEEDING A SHARE BUTTON! WOOHOO! SHE SAID I KNOW JUST THE PERSON TO TELL! SO AGAIN THIS IS HOW IT IS TO BE A SHOW ME STATE GIRL! SHOW THEM AND THEY WILL GET IT DONE! ;) THANKS FOR THE IDEA FOR A SHARE BUTTON! 
Brooke Tosie So what do i do if i wanna go to Joplin and help? Do i just go down there?
Brooke Tosie Thank you all !!
Brittany Nicole You can sign up as a volunteer on www.211missouri.org/
Josette Sacco How can I help? I am in Chicago and I am ready to ask around work and all my friends to donate cloths, supplies, etc. Can I ship them? Is there anything specific you are looking for?
Teresa Beck i know that are asking for bottle water, no one is allowed to drink the water in joplin, also need diapers ,blankets,pillows , canned goods too
Alabama 2011 Tornado Lost or Missing Josette, you may want to check out this Google Document. Organizations are listing locations for drop offs there. http://goo.gl/9N0LS Truckers are volunteering their time to transport, also.
Frank Drake A Shear Thing Salon is partnering with Heart to Heart,
Plato's Closet, and other Shawnee, KS businesses to collect
supplies for those affected by the tornado in Joplin, MO
Here is how you can help...
CARE KIT CONTENTS:
Kim Bedell I have a crew of guys that can come from Leavenworth KS with chainsaws and bobcat equipment. Who do I need to get in contact with so they can make arrangements to come help out?
Amy Martin Conner for help in the rescue and cleanup efforts, you should contact the joplin police dept (417) 623-3131 and let them know your skills and what equipmet you have. :)
Kim Bedell Thank you!
Kristy Charleen Trimmell
I have clean childrens clothing ranging from 12 months - 5T, Teen sizes and adult. Live in Springfield, MO...where can I take these to?
14 minutes ago via Android 
Kerry Pece Try this websitehttp://goo.gl/9N0LS
Shawn Lee Defiant Wood
Hospitals where people were taken
Integris Baptist Health Center in Miami - 918-542-6611
McCune Brooks Hospital in Carthage 417-358-8121
St. John's Hospital in Springfield 417-820-2000(Destroyed vehicles are piled on top of one another in the parking lot of the Joplin Regional Medical Center. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Sabrina Bentrup MRC Recycling is Accepting Non-Perishable Donations for Joplin Relief
On Saturday, May 28, MRC will be taking a truck to Joplin, Missouri to aid in the recovery in the wake of the destruction sustained during the recent storm activity.
We are taking non-perishable donations at all MRC locations. Donations must be brought in by Friday th...See More
The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri
A MO family is matching up to $50,000 in donations made to Heart of Missouri United Way for Joplin, MO Tornado Recovery.
Nikki Moffett Czeschin Trying to locate Stanley Moffett or any of his family in the Joplin area. They are not listed on the safe and well website. I know the odds of someone hearing of him are slight, but I thought I'd put it out there. Thanks!
Amanda Claxton Missouri United Way has established the Joplin, MO Tornado Recovery. To donate, call 573-443-4523. Or text "JOPLIN" to 864833 to make a $10 donation. :)
Joanne Curio if any one going up to joplin from lebanon mo let me know because i would love to help out here is my no 417-322-0707 my name is joanne
Debbie Gibbs Godlewski Joanne - seriously...i don't even know you but, be careful!!!
Joanne Curio i need to go and help out thats me my heart is telling me to help out because we may be able to save lifes out there
Joplin, MO Tornado Recovery
Phone lines are now open at Heart of Missouri United Way! Call 573-443-4523, go online to http://uwheartmo.org/, or text JOPLIN to 864833 to make a donation. A MO family has pledged to match up to $50,000 in donations made to this organization, beginning this morning, and 00% of proceeds go straight to Joplin. All overhead is being covered locally.
Welcome to Heart of Missouri United Way - Home Page
uwheartmo.org
This is the official website of the Heart of Missouri United Way in Columbia, Missouri.
Savannah Portell And baby supplies!
Maria Zaldiba Thank you for all you're doing. I'm praying and will donate.Amber Lucas St. John's in Tulsa, Ok. has people that were injured. The main number is 918-744-2345. I am checking with the other hospitals around here as well.
(Residents of Joplin, Mo, walk west on 26th Street near Maiden Lane. (AP Photo/Mike Gullett)
Jarred Young ok so fema has too many numbers anyone know the number for fema in joplin???Bill Benson Our needs our becoming very specific at the shelter, for example we need treats and snacks, particularly diabetic friendly items. Also office supplies like ink pens. Please share and repost.Jennifer Tomasi Joplin Tornado Lost Documents

This is a new page that has people who have found photos and other documents, personal items in their lawns etc. after the tornado. They are trying to return these things to their owners.
Very good 
\Tony Williams Don't pos medical records. Its a HEPA violation. Morgan GunterBe wary to donate. Trucks are being turned away. And you never know who is lying about supplies... Happened with Katrina. Go through the Red Cross or Fema
Jessica StocktonStockton Law Office at 207 E. Main St., Gardner, KS 66030 is now taking donations like clothing, shoes, non-perishable food items, hand sanitizer, and money for the families affected by the tornado in Joplin, MO. We are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. closed from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. for lunch. Thank you, please re-post to get the word out!
Lief Eric MaloneCould the group creators please make a $10 Million for Joplin event, encouraging 1 million people to give $10 to the Heart of Missouri United Way?
Jarod Clarke‎The Kansas City Chiefs are accepting donations of bottled water from noon to 7pm today and Wednesday from 7am to 7pm at Arrowhead Stadium Lot C. http://bit.ly/iG0VqUJennifer Leisure SlinkardI'd be more than willing to take in any victims/families that need a temporary place...I'm in Fort Scott about 1 hour away fro m Joplin.

 social media disaster response
Social Media in Disaster Response Infographic by the University of San Francisco.
Posted by Poetslife at Thursday, December 09, 2021
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