The second day of the Midwest Disasters 2.0 Social Media Workshop was a great follow-up to the first day's training and exercise. Presentations and speakers from Georgia to Washington provided insight and experience regarding how social media is (and can be) leveraged in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. A summary is as follows:
Dave Daigle (@cdcemergency) -- As a CDC Communication Director, Mr. Daigle presented on the recent Zombie Preparedness campaign. He provided very interesting insight how about an $87 investment lead to one of the most successful online preparedness campaigns ever. More interestingly, he discussed how the campaign has maintained "legs" as it continues to be discussed and leveraged by other groups.
Yazamie August (@AlabamaEMA) -- As the PIO for Alabama Emergency Management Agency, she discussed the State's social media engagement during the April 2011 tornado outbreak that caused significant damage throughout the State. This included a discussion about the challenges of establishing a facebook page after the disaster has struck
Holly Hart (@Toomers4Ttown) -- As the coordinator of the Toomers for Tuscaloosa movement, Mrs. Hart discussed the rise and successes of the crowdsourcing of disaster assistance outside of government approval, engagement, and oversight. This emergent group apparently arose in response to a public perception about a slow response from government
Zachary Toups (@toupsz) -- As an augmented reality specialist with TEEX, Dr. Toups discussed the possibilities (and challenges) of augmented reality in disaster response and recovery. Specifically, the possibility of using technology (ex: iPhone or iPad) to see the world and add data layers (ex: GIS layers) on top of the view. This was a fascinating topic for the future.
Alicia Johnson (@urbanareaalicia), Cheryl Bledsoe (@cheryble), and several others have yet to present, but have scheduled presentations on open data/government, gamification, strategic partnerships, and account management.
The @MWD20 is tweeting regular updates about the event and they are leveraging the #MWD20 hashtag for anyone.
