I have the distinct pleasure today of attending the third annual Midwest Disasters 2.0 Social Media Workshop in Kansas City. Like many communities throughout the United States, Kansas City has slowly, but definitively been moving forward on when, where, and how to integrate social media into multi-disciplinary emergency management.
The Midwest Disasters 2.0 Social Media Workshop is a two day event that is divided into three sessions. Today will include a 4 hour social media introductory class taught by Kim Nakahodo (@kimnakahodo) and Almitra Buzan (@almitrab). This afternoon will be a series of social media exercises conducted by Hal Grieb (@hal_grieb) to teach users how to leverage social media monitor tools.
Tomorrow's seminar will include presentations on a variety of topics including the CDC's Zombie Preparedness campaign, gamification in preparedness, mobile apps, augmented reality, strategic partnerships, and crowdsourcing just to name a few. Great and knowledgeable speakers including Cheryl Bledsoe (@cherylble), Alicia Johnson (@urbanareaalicia), Yasamie August (@AlabamaEMA), and Holly Hart (@Toomers4Ttown) will be providing these wonderful topics.
The best part is this entire event was provided for free to the local emergency management and preparedness community by leveraging the few remaining UASI funds available in the region. Great work!
