WHAT

A post-Hurricane Sandy case study on a social media pilot project in the Borough of Manasquan, NJ to utilize social media at the local government level under the Risk Assessment, Mapping, and Planning Partners (RAMPP) project funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Risk MAP phase of the National Flood Insurance Program. The Borough of Manasquan’s Administrator, Joseph Deiorio  will share his experiences in deploying social media before, during, and post-crisis. Kim Stephens from iDisaster 2.0, Kasey Parr from the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, and Michael Clarke of International Media Solutions will lead a conversation on the overarching issues of using social media as a means of communicating during an emergency. Potential topics to be covered include but are not limited to:

• How to build local capacity?
• Maintaining and engaging your audience after a disaster
• How much time should be spent managing social media?
• Alternatives to Facebook and Twitter
• Privacy, Censorship, and the 1st Amendment
• Understanding your community’s needs and social media presence
• Mistakes: how to prevent them and what to do when one is made
• Existing social media resources

WHY

Hurricane Sandy was the greatest test we could have anticipated when designing the FEMA supported Risk Assessment, Mapping and Planning Partners (RAMPP) Program “Social Media for Local Government” pilot training for the Borough of Manasquan in June 2012. The purpose of the one-day workshop was to educate and encourage local government officials to utilize the power of social media for natural hazard risk communication as part of FEMA’s larger Coastal Outreach Program for New Jersey and New York City. In reviewing the data, there is no doubt that the Borough’s online presence was a critical portal of real-time information prior, during, and post Sandy. The analytics demonstrate how the Borough utilized the power of social media for natural hazard risk communication as part of FEMA’s larger Coastal Outreach Program for New Jersey and New York City. Not only did the Borough serve its residents, but also it filled a void in a lack of information generated from neighboring boroughs and communities across FEMA Region II.

In this session we will discuss these issues and other successful examples of social media being used for emergency management.

WHO

Anyone who is interested in, or working with, social media for government and/or emergency management.

WHERE

The Fridge DC
516 1/2 8th Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003

Directions

We are located across the street from Matchbox Pizza on 8th Street SE, Barracks Row in Eastern Market. Find the alley between Belga Cafe and Senart’s Oyster & Chop House. Go half way down the alley, and you will find our building.

From The Metro: We are 2 blocks from the Eastern Market Station, orange and blue line. Find 8th Street when exiting the station by going straight toward the Starbucks on the corner. Make a right onto 8th Street. Walk 2 blocks until you get to Matchbox Pizza. Follow directions above.