Who fail in Calgary? Should we rethink crisis communications management?

It is really a pity, not to say it makes me feel a bit ashamed, seeing how Twitter failed to provide the expected coverage to @CalgaryPolice, an account who was wonderfully giving answers, support and feedback to thousands of citizens during Calgary floods. @CalgaryPolice managed the situation when Twitter locked their account (due to an overused, according to Twitter terms) by redirecting the traffic to Digital Communications Officer, Jeremy Shaw, @CstShaw, who took over tweeting from his personal Twitter account,  on behalf of the official police Twitter account.

@CalgaryPolice used its account as the citizens expected. Engaging in conversation, countering criticism, managing volunteers offers and giving answers to questions as well as pulling information using the hashtag  #yycflood. It is not this the essence of social media? Well done till here. I won’t bIame them. On the contrary. My congratulations.

I don’t know how many people they needed to engage in that endless conversation but sure it has been an effort well worth. If I were in the middle of a flood, fire or hurricane, I would really appreciate that the authorities answer me in case I use Twitter to ask for help or instructions.

As a citizen I don’t care whether it was Twitter or Twitter algorithm the one who fail, as Simon Fraser University communication professor Peter Chow-White says here. The only thing that matters is that the account was shut down in the middle of an emergency for hours.

If we all agree that Twitter has become a fundamental channel in crisis communications, as it was during Sandy Hurricane, to quote but one example, how can it be possible that Twitter made a Twitter jail in the middle of a crisis of that dimension? I know rules must be obeyed, that’s what they are for. Otherwise no one would be able to know what to expect.

Having this scenario two questions come to my mind:

Is it sensible to rely crisis communications on one single channel? So long as I have seen, Calgary Police did not use its Facebook page during the floods, a channel with a lot of traffic during Sandy Hurricane. Neither had I found videos uploaded to YouTube.

The other questions  I wonder is: Do we need a different way to engage with people during an emergency? A reliable and resilient software we can really trust no matter what?

Just thinking aloud.

How to perform an emergency drill using Social Media

I used to say, when I cooperated with the National School of Civil Protection in the International Coordination Course, as a media expert, that I love emergency drills because whatever happens no one would be hurt. I am not sure anymore of this statement. Let’s make myself clear, I still love drills because, generally speaking, it is still true the former statement, but what may happen when we run a drill though social media and it is not clear the difference between fiction and reality?

To avoid this happening, I’d like to point out some general outlines based on a wonderful drill performed beautifully by the city of San Francisco, in the USA. As you all know, they practiced the response and recovery to a simulated magnitude 7.8 earthquake during the 2013 GoldenGuardian exercise last May 15th. They counted on Twitter accounts @SF_emergency, @EM4SF. The first of them has nearly 60,000 followers and is used for sending out both urgent and non-urgent messages.

They also utilized Facebook and blogs as well as the web page 72hours.org, where it is possible to learn how to face a quake though the quakequizsf and meet SFHeroes, an interesting way for young people to get involved using an amusing app.

San Francisco Heroes

Besides expressing my congratulations, I wish to explain what they did so well as an example of best practices.

Advise the media.

To me this point is crucial. Sometimes people tend to forget that the “old” media are not only the way many people get the news but, moreover, they are a key point because they infom the community and also reproduce what it is being delivered through social media. If they ignore that an exercise is going on it is possible that they believed, as the rest of citizens, that the messages shared in an official account are real, especially if authorities, first responders and relevant stakeholder don’t use any especial #hashtag for the event.

A different topic is whether it is preferable to use the official account, as San Francisco did so well, or to create a specific profile for the exercise. Personally, I like the second idea because if we create an account with the word “drill “or “exercise” in the profile people would know what is going on, as @LuisSerranoR, Madrid 112 PIOs prefers,  though it is also true that in this case people need to identify the acccount. Pros and cons to be evaluating depending on the circumstances, aim of the drill, etcetera. I use it myself when teaching social media and the idea is just getting the students familiar with social media.

Use all channels

As the Public Information Officer for the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, Francis Zamora said “It’s great that we can push messages out to different people, but not everybody’s on social media and so we use [more traditional] tools to do that.”

Great! That’s the idea. Use all channels. Social media is one more tool in the toolbox. No need to insist on this.

Involve (and informe) all relevant stakeholders

Pretty obvious, but still, well done. If in a real emergency all relevant stakeholders participate it is a good idea to involve them to be prepared before it happens. So, the appropriate integration of all relevant stakeholders, the better.

Update social media

It is necessary to update information as it changes within the exercise but also not to forget the rest. If we didn’t create a different account there should be a way to ensure that information related to the exercise is classified as belonging to it, so citizens know that all the rest is real information. Any one reading the timeline should be able to get updated information and must have a certain idea of what is reality and what is not.

It is also quite useful to make a summary of the event and analyze what went wrong and right to improve the response of the emergency services.

Inform when the exercise is over

As simple as this. We say when the exercise begins and when it is over. Still the same. We know what we are up to and that is always good. The more certainties we have, the better.

Any more ideas?

Twitter live Boston Marathon

One again, the first announcement of a crisis, the twin blast in Boston Marathon, which left 3 dead people, including an 8 year old child, and more than a 140 injured, was acknowledged via Twitter. Social Media were quick and efficient to let us know in due time what was going on and what the authorities, first responders and the Government (including President Obama) were doing to cope with the situation.

The explosions occurred at 18.50 GMT near the finish line of Boston Marathon, the most important competition of this sort. Videos  and pictures followed them live in Twitter and Facebook  , as well as summaries using different tools like storify and YouTube channels, also quite helpful to draw a picture of the situation, including President Obama's speech.

Obama explained that he didn’t know who committed the attack or why, but assured the nation that they would find them. 

Regarding the authorities, Boston used used their Twitter account, @Boston_Police, to provide, for instance, a phone number for those eager to share information about the attack

The Boston Police also used its account to explain that all the agents had gone back to job, an important issue in any crisis, moreover if we remember that yesterday it was a holiday in Boston.

Clearly, if before social media appeared crises, disasters and even wars, were broadcast in television, today they go live on Twitter.

Social media are self-correcting

It is also true that Twitter spread rumors, as usually happens when a crisis occurs, but the network was also capable of countering criticism, so, once more, it’s been proven that social media do not need to be corrected form the outside, they are selfcorrecting. 

As an example we have this information uploaded to Twitter by The New York Post (@nypost) which affirms that 12 people were killed, when at that time there were only 2 people dead.

But it was quickly disproved by @Boston_Police.

It is also remarkable how the citizens not only of Boston but even of Canada offered help to those in need though the hashtag #bostonhelp, not to forget the quick opening of the  Google’sperson finder and those who unlock their Wifi networks to enable people in the streets to freely access the Internet.

Crisis, Journalism and Social Media

It’s no news that we are in crisis. Besides the economical one, we are witnessing a world where new things come up almost every minute. I’m talking here about Social Media, and what I would like to question is whether and how journalism's crisis is related to the  whole new scenario provided by Social Media and all the features attached to them, particularly when a crisis strikes, whenever it is a natural disaster or a topic related to a political issue.

When I studied Journalism at college, more than twenty years ago, I learn that I had to confirm the information with two sources. That was the way I started working at the radio in Spain and that was what any of us did. No one ever thought of broadcasting any little piece of information not corroborated by at least one trusted source. If a citizen called you, or the Radio Station, to give some information, they were a source of information you should check. Nothing more, nothing less.

Picture send by @Kailuland to @112madrid
showing a crack in Peñalara (Madrid)

Only yesterday a citizen called @kaikuland sent a message via Twitter,with some pictures, to Madrid Emergency Service, @112cmadrid, warning about deep cracks (up to eight meters) on the snow in Peñalara, a mountain near Madrid. In a wonderful example of citizen journalism, @kaikuland contributed to create civil protection culture providing graphical useful evidence through Social Media, as @LuisSerranoR explained in this video-post (in spanish) shared by the digital magazine iRescate. Well done.

Influencers and trusted information

On the other side, we also know of many examples where false information had been uploaded through social media. If we only have a look to Hurricane Sandy pictures, there is no need to insist on the topic.

But what happens when it is a traditional media with a reputation and millions of readers who shares non verified information? I'm talking now about spanish newspaper El País when the diary published a fake of Venezuela's Prime Minister, Hugo Chavez, on January 25^th 2013, with 5 columns in its paper edition. The picture had been  authentified by a news Agency, they say. It remained in the digital edition for half an hour while the paper edition was withdrawn.

Paper edition of EL PAÍS showing fake
picture of Hugo Chávez in hospital

As a consequences of this misfortune, El País has lost not only an important part of its reputation but also many readers. What for? To be the first? We all know that in this new scenario, speed is more related to being relevant and to avoid rumors when a crisis strikes than to being first when there is no need. Old days when journalist and the media were the first source has gone, forever.

We, the journalist, should remember that we are who know the rules and we shouldn't forget how they apply, since we are supposed to make journalism (according to law), despite the new social media or whatever new chances the future may bring. It is our responsibility to be truthful because it is not only our reputation what we should worry about, but in a disaster, it is matter of protecting citizens, their properties and the environment.

Thanks  to digital volunteers, integrated in VOST, traditional media as well as ordinary citizens who post  with responsibility, social media are self-correcting, and things always end up in the right place.

If the influencers are those with a reputation, you may lose yours, besides your influence, at once, whoever you are, a media, a journalist or a citizen, in one single click.

The question is: Is the Hugo Chavez incident, and many others we see almost daily, related with the fact that the traditional media are not anymore neither the only source of information nor the first? I think it is. Don't you?

Please feel free to share your thoughts.

Special Firefighters Rescue Team uses WhatsApp to locate lost people

WhatsApp is being used by the Firefighter’s Special Rescue Mountain Team (GERA) in Madrid to rescue people who are lost in the mountains. The team, belonging to Madrid 112 Firefighters, has been able to locate 6 people during the last two months, asking them to use  WhatsApp app to send their location. Many people is not aware of this app’s capability.

It all started casually a couple of months ago when the firefighters team was searching a person lost in the mountains and they couldn’t find him, explained to me Luis Rincon, GERA’s director. A team member asked him whether he was familiar with WhatsApp. The answer was yes, but the man didin’t  know how to send his location.

“All the emergency team had to do, says Rincón, was to guide him through the app so he was able to tell them where he was. That allowed us to save a lot of time, since the position sent is based on the GPS’s Smartphone and is quite accurate. “

“Once we know where a person is, we can either rescue them, if necessary, or guide them to find the right path”.

Operation Manual

"What we've done, explains Rincón, is a very simple operational manual to help people. We generated two trees, one for iPhone  and one for Android. There are almost ten million people using WhatsApp in Spain, but  most of them do not know how to send their location".

GERA's Firefighters 

"What we do when someone contacts 112 is giving them instructions, so they are capable of using  WhatsApp’s menus to send us their position. Smartphones have a great potential for rescue teams, but people ignore this functionality".

How to send your location

The first requirement is having the GPS on or activate it. “Many times people don’t have the GPS activated to save battery. What we recommend is that people learn at home how to do so, in case they need it”.

"Sending your position is an option WhatsApp offers, but people usually uses the app to chat and ignore this capability. What we have done is create some sheets to explain users how to send their location, depending on the smartphone they have. It is a quick reference guide to tell a person what they need to do to send a message with their position“.

“At the same time, we always try people to waste as little battery as possible".

"Not all menus are the same. What people who is planning to go out in the mountains should do is find out home how to use this capability in case they need it”.

"The person who has been able to take these steps is much easier to locate. Sometimes people do not even know what side of the mountain (Madrid or Segovia) they are. Before using WhasApp, they were asked to look at the smartphone screen and tell us their location, but there were many mistakes. We did not know if the position was accurate of it contained a mistake, that could be from 300 meters to 5 kilometers, depending on the Mobile Network ".

WhatsApp offers the correct position instantaneously

"With WhatsApp this is out of the blue. It gives the correct position with an error of 10 or 15 meters, approximately. "

"We are not the first emergency service to use WhatsApp to locate people”, said Rincon. León's Civil Guard  used WhatsApp last October the to find a woman who was lost with her car.

Emergency Centre Madrid 112, 2 years in Social Media

The Emergency Center Madrid 112 meets his first two years in the main social networks: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and Thinglink. Madrid 112 followers tripled to reach 21,000 today in their different profiles.  Twitter account @cmadrid grew from the 5,200 fans a year ago to 18,100 now, while Facebook fans increased from 1,500 to 3,115.

The regional government launched this service in order to inform citizens immediately in case of emergencies such as a road cut by a traffic accident, the interruption of rail traffic or, as happened last summer in Valdemaqueda, a wildfire. In the case of information related to the state of the roads Madrid 112 links the information with the Traffic General Service, so that citizens can deepen the information.

Today, more than 18,100 people follow through Twitter, the account @ 112cmadrid compared to 5,200 they did a year ago. This is an increase of nearly 13,000 fans. Madrid 112  provides last minute information on emergencies and engage with citizens whose questions are addresses through thisTwitter account. They also offer pictures, videos and civil protection recommendations, and broadcast their activity via Ustream.

Madrid 112 Facebook page is followed by more than 3,115 people, up from 1,500 a year ago. Many of those followers belong to emergency or civil protection services. They are mainly young and male audience. Madrid 112 also opened in February a profile on Tuenti oriented to youth and teenagers.

More than 306,000 videos uploaded to YouTube

Videos showing how regional emergency services work, including Firefighters and the Medical Emergency Services (SUMMA 112) has been visualized more than 306,000 times. By sharing this content, Madrid 112 pretends to create a civil protection culture.

Madrid 112 is also present in Flickr and Thinglink, a new social network that lets you post multiple photos with internal links to other photos, videos, texts or websites, an application that enhances the user experience graphically when sharing information across networks as Twitter or Facebook.

2 days with Glen Gilmore

Antrax crisis management, a 2.0 approach is the title of the conference @GlenGilmore lectured yesterday in the Spanish city of Alcorcon, very close to Madrid. The emergency digital magazine, @iRescate, directed by me, and the city Hall Town of Alcorcon @AytoAlcorcon organized the event, which the cooperation of the Spanish Society of Emergency Medicine, SEMES Madrid.

Since anyone interested in the conference may follow all the information in @iRescate, where also an exclusive interview will be available soon, and Twitter (#Antrax) what I’d like to talk in this post is how I met Gilmore and my personal impression on the conference and him.

Social Media

Glen Gilmore contacted me through Twitter on the summer of 2011. I started using the app only that same year, and I must confess that I didin’t know, at that time, how important he was. I didin’t know he has more than 130.000 followers only in his personal account, besides those he has in his others’.

The thing is I probably RT something he wrote (neither of us remember how it was) and we started talking in Twitter. He immediately asked me to join him in LinkeIn, which is what he usually does to check whether somebody is reliable in social media, as he explained to me when we met in Madrid.

What I recalled clearly is that I thought, for the message he sent me in Spanish to join him in LinkedIn, that he was a gentleman. I also thought, for his profile picture, that he was much older than he really is. The funny thing is that he immediately “threaten” me to visit Spain next September. I inmediately answered: “You will be very welcome”.

More than a year happened, during which we kept talking on Twitter, when he sent me an e-mail saying he was coming within a week to Madrid and if it would be possible to lecture on the Antrax crisis. He also added that he needed a translator :-) At that moment, I offered myself to perform the task.

I answered immediately saying it was all a bit too sudden, but, nonetheless, I would make some calls to find a suitable place for the event. I called my friend, @CarlosNovillo, Alcorcon’s Fire Fighter’s Chief, who said that Alcorcon’s Mayor @DavidPerez, would be very interested. I also talked to the vice president of the Spanish Society of Emergency Medicine, SEMES, @fernandolopezmesa, who offered the possibility to certify the conference as a course. All settled, I talked to Madrid 112 Press Manager, @Luisserranor, to organize a visit to Madrid 112.

Devirtualization

We finally met on Wednesday the 25^th on Madrid. We spent three hours together talking on his experience with the Antrax and discussing the presentation he would make the following day. We also talked about the Spanish situation and met a demonstration on the city centre. By that time, I obviously knew how much influence he has on social media, and I wanted everything to be all right.

And it was.

Trustworthiness and social media

Emergency Managers always say  trustworthiness is key in an emergency situation. You can not pretend to open an account on Twitter and be trusted by the citizens next day only because you are and authority. Credibility is something that must be constructed day after day, so you are a reliable source of information.

Glen and I trust each other for the moment we met in social media, and that was the base for the event to be a success.

Emergency Services

We spent Wednesday 26^th all day together, from the moment Madrid 112 Press Manager and me picked him up at his hotel. We visited Madrid 112 Joint Centre in the morning, then had lunch in Alcorcon with the Fire Fighters Chief, the Security Responsible of Alcorcon city town and some other authorities. At 6 o’clock p.m. we met Alcorcon’s Mayor and the conference started.

Visiting Madrid 112 Joint Centre

Gilmore was impressed by the Spanish Emergency Services, and so he said to Madrid 112 Director and to Alcorcon’s Mayor. I remember him saying that he felt “more secure” after visiting the Joint Centre and knowing how they work.

He tried all day to make himself understandable in Spanish, and we really had a great time.

If anyone understands perfectly why the Hufftington Post named him a “Twitter Power House”, what I would like to remark about him is not only his professionalism, well known everywhere, but his kindness and closeness.

As he said, social media connections are real connections, and they make it possible that we finally were able to meet in Madrid and he could lecture here on the Antrax crisis and the power of social media in emergency management.

Thanks to all my friends and authorities who make this event possible and to Glen for making all the way to Spain to share his experience with us!