crisis comms command post: At number 9 on the smem list: a command view to fit the "bill"

Saturday, December 17, 2011

At number 9 on the smem list: a command view to fit the "bill"

You don't necessarily have to be a prolific blogger or contributor to journals to be influential. A case in point, is my choice for #9 on my list of top 25 smem destinations. Chief Bill Boyd of the Bellingham Fire Dept in Washington State.

What Bill (or Chiefb2 on Twitter) lacks in quantity, is more than made up in quality. The impact of his pronouncements on his blog are felt throughout the entire SMEM community and among first responders from many areas. Here's one taken from his latest post:

Respectful

Don’t diss your customers (listeners)…Period. The customer is always right…. Unless they are a criminal. Then, book ‘em.

His latest post, published earlier this week, caught the attention of many, including that of Sgt Tim Burrows of the Toronto Police Service, himself a noted social media authority (as noted via his standing on this list). Here's what Sgt Burrows had to say about Chief Boyd's post, which he included in its entirety on his own blog:

So here is what got me so excited this morning….not changing a word, comma, spelling. It is just too awesome just the way it is!!

When Bill talks about social media in emergencies ... he gives his views from a command and an operational perspective and that's very valuable and makes his blog a true destination. To him, the integration of social media into incident management is not something that should wait for official doctrine to catch up ... it's an issue that every first responder and emergency management agency should face head on and address so that they can bridge the gap between the expectations of the public and their own policies and capabilities.

You'd better hear it from the man himself: