The rise of social media and networked citizens requires a new governmental attitude toward preparedness--this according to panelists during a recent discussion at the Center for National Policy in Washington, D.C.
An outdated model dominated by a "professional protector class...’I-could-tell-you-but-I'll-have-to-kill-you’ kind of approach to national security can no longer apply to the problem of ensuring national resiliency in the face of terrorist attacks or even natural disasters,” said Scott Bates, the center's vice president for national security (as highlighted in Fierce Government).
"Because of the revolution in social media, [people] expect an answer, and we're not happy to just roll with whatever recording we get on the telephone," Bates said.
Bates is co-author of a recently released report from the Center for National Policy entitled, “Connecting America: Building Resilience with Social Media.”
According to the report, social media is a central issue in communicating the message of resilience to the American public. As such, the Center offers five suggestions for applying social media to empower people to take a more active role in preparedness, response and recovery:
- Create a national campaign to focus on social media and resilience
- Hold a national Summit with social media company leaders focused on its role in resilience and recovery
- Modernize the Emergency Alert System (EAS) (already in the works)
- Focus on the creation of a family reunification tool (federal officials and social media companies)
- Ensure emergency operations centers have/focus resources on social media during critical events
- Utilize social media in a crisis for maintaining continuity of critical networks (transportation, health care facilities, etc.)
Whether or not these recommendations are practical is yet to be seen. However, it is increasingly clear social networks cannot be ignored as channels for disseminating critical information. Our operating procedures simply must continue to migrate with citizen expectations and technology.
How is your agency adapting? Any lessons learned? We’d love to hear from you.
Best regards,
Lorin
