Lot's of stuff in the recent days that's caught my attention ... how a "tiger" has been declawed ... a very good post from Steve Rubel's posterous page about engagement in the social media age, a very good analysis on the political class and emergency management/information from Gerald Baron ... a piece by Christa Miller from Cops 2.o ... and finally another good analysis from Gerald Baron on how "old" media is using social media ...
1- Tiger ... enough's been said ... you waited ... you lost the opportunity to get your story out in time ... you didn't drive the agenda ... now you're puttering about ... lesson: act quickly, decisively when your reputation's at risk ... no other way ... no sense in burying your head in the sand...trap
2- a link to a fantastic resource from a leading PR agency on engagement in the social media age ... a must read in my opinion ... you can find it here: http://www.edelman.co.uk/public-engagement/
What makes our job so different now ... in one word: listening ... to engage in conversations ... to get your message across, you first need to listen ... so monitor social media platforms ... and watch your tone!
You don't enter a room at a party to deliver a message ... you mingle and have conversations where you deliver the info you need to convey in the appropriate context ...otherwise people won't listen to you if you "preach" ... the same applies in social media outreach ...
3- How do you engage and educate the political class on emergency management and emergency information? When is it proper and necessary for a political leader to be the face of your response to an incident? when should that be done by emergency managers/experts?
The key is in preparing the political class (or your CEO) and involving them in training and exercises ... so they understand the process and the need for operational requirements and latitude ... the post here:
http://emcrisiscomm.blogspot.com/2009/12/when-political-opportunism-and-nims.html
4- what kind of social media policies should law enforcement agencies adopt? Is it necessary, or wise, to separate the professional and the personal, where officers identify themselves as cops and their duties/assignments? In my modest opinion, the two go together ... if you keep your posts professional in tone, even if you're talking about personal experiences, that should be ok ... people want to know their dealing with humans ... showing a private side is not necessary a bad think for LEOs.
http://cops2point0.com/2009/12/02/the-cost-of-transparency/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Cops20+%28Cops+2.0%29
5- finally, does old media see the light ... maybe some do ... if you make your readers, (or viewers, listeners) part of your team ... you're more present, more involved and more deeply rooted in the life of your audiences ... they'll want to share ... and you'll have a platform where people experience "news" ... live it ... share it ... generate content and make YOU relevant ...
http://crisisblogger.wordpress.com/2009/12/03/when-old-media-starts-acting-like-new-media-orlando-sentinel/
Looking forward to your comments on these ...
Hey Patrice, thanks for the pingback! I completely agree -- many police bloggers do very well at melding personal with professional.
ReplyDeleteBut then you read comments on a post like this and the issue becomes more complicated: http://www.policeone.com/off-duty/articles/1975735-Facebook-comments-cost-Ga-cop-his-job/
I just like to explore all the issues when I'm blogging. Journalist thing. :) I think SM can do far more good than harm, but meanwhile, it's important to validate the fears and bad experiences, let admins and cops know we do understand so that we can figure out where the solutions might lie.