by Eric Holdeman: Emergency management in the blogosphere
Subscribe via RSS | About this Blog | Contact Eric Holdeman | Blog Roll
Social media is changing just about everything about how we plan for, respond to and recover from disasters. It is impacting society in general and for emergency management and the companies associated with preparing for and responding to disaster it has significant ramifications.
See the Disaster-Zone TV show I did recently with Andy Wappler, Puget Sound Energy. In it he describes how they as an energy company have reacted to the impacts of social media and the way it has changed how they monitor what is going on within their system and interact with their customers and the general public.
Leave a comment
School violence keeps popping up in the news. The last big news story was a high school student who was planning a bombing at his school. Luckily someone notified authorities when they were tipped off that something could be up. I guess you would call that, "Hear something--say something."
I had the opportunity to interview Jesus Villahermosa, a national expert in school safety. This interview is the second of what will be an ongoing series of television programs where I interview a variety of people about all different aspects of emergencies and disasters.
For more information on an upcoming School Safety Symposium click on the link.
Leave a comment
I have started doing a series of television interviews with people who work in the emergency management and disaster disciplines. These people may come from the public or private sectors. Watch for more interviews coming in the near future.
See the show below with the Director, King County Office of Emergency Management.
Leave a comment
Personally I don't think we are living up to the generally held belief that local and state emergency management are on the front lines of being prepared for, responding to and recovering from disasters. If it was true, then state and local jurisdictions would be shouldering more of the funding for their own programs. In actuality we have a Federally funded system of emergency management here in the United States. Without those Federal funds we'd have some pretty small programs in all but the larger cities and states.
See my video blog below on my thoughts about this Federally Funded Emergency Management System.
You can view more videos at my YouTube Channel
3 comments
Since I now have a place for videos on my blog I thought I'd resurrect this PBS interview that I did and which ran after the weakness of the "Terrorism Only" emphasis by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was revealed in the poor showing that FEMA had in responding to Hurricane Katrina.
Thankfully the course that FEMA and DHS was on was reversed and a return to an all-hazard approach came back as to how the nation funds disaster preparedness. It took a number of years, but the ship has been righted and now the only issue is that federal funding is rapidly dwindling.
Sometimes I wonder how much better off we might be today if there hand been an all-hazard approach from the beginning.
Leave a comment
Have you been challenged by not being able to use social media in your workplace? Are there only a chosen few who can interact using social media--and you are not one of them?
Watch my ten minute talk that I did earlier this year at a #140ConfNW held in Vancouver, Washington. Maybe there is something you can use to advance the cause of social media in or organization, discipline or region.
See YouTube link to Overcoming Social Media Objections
Leave a comment
The word collaboration has replaced other terms that are many times more appropriate for the action that you intend. Watch this video blog to hear an explanation of which term to use when:
- Inform
- Coordinate
- Partner
- Collaborate
Leave a comment
I've blogged on the future importance of video as a way of communicating in the future. The faster connection speeds we have now and the hand held devices, both tablets and smart phones, make watching video much easier.
That's the reason I'm starting a new chapter in my blogging efforts by creating a Disaster Zone Video Blog that will cover the same types of topics I've written about before, but now I'll communicate information and ideas by using voice and video. A few years back when I was at King County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) I had a weekly podcast. Now in addition to the voice you can share the visual image with your message. Since the majority of communications takes place visually when people talk with one another it is a logical progression to take this next step towards video.
I look forward to connecting with you on a regular basis using this new medium.
Leave a comment
Latest Emergency Management News
Sacramento, Calif., Mayor Kevin Johnson helps launch the Resilient Communities for America campaign.
The Centers for Disease Control and Preventionโs free app may help public health officials educate Americans about massive sickness and treatment.
A new partnership will help San Francisco utilize shared resources in the event of an emergency.
Latest Blog Posts 
NHMA Webinar on Flood Risk Communications