A Role for CERT in Social Media Monitoring
?
2 likes?465 views
Montgomery County CERT (MCCERT) successfully implemented initiatives in response to a winter weather emergency in March 2013. MCCERT provided social media monitoring support at the local Emergency Operations Center and developed and consolidated situation reports (SITREPs), proving volunteers are a valuable asset in times of emergency. This presentation covered the initiatives, key takeaways, and lessons learned.
A Role for CERT in Social Media Monitoring
- 1. May 13-14, 2014 Walter E. Washington Convention Center Washington, DC Steve?Peterson,?President Montgomery?County?Community? Emergency?Response?Team?(CERT) A?Role?for?CERT?in?Social?Media? Monitoring
- 2. Agenda ? Share?details?on?CERT’s?role?in?social?media? monitoring?and?situation?reporting?initiatives – Key?takeaways – Lessons?learned – Future?enhancements
- 4. May 13-14, 2014 Walter E. Washington Convention Center Washington, DC Initiative?#1: Social?Media?Monitoring
- 6. Pre‐Deployment?Strategy ? Began?contacting?pre‐identified?participants? ? Developed?timeframe?to?monitor?social?media? platforms?(contingent?upon?EOC’s?length?of?activation) ? Sought?additional?CERT?members’?participation ? Captured?contact?information?of?newly?identified? participants – Developed?a?communication?thread?between?this?small? group
- 8. with?certain?terms? or?combination?of? terms – E.g.,?snow?+? hospitals How?It?Worked:?Finding?Information ? Hashtags?provided?a?quick?and?easy?way?to?follow?a? discussion: – #mocosnow,?#mdwx,?#saturn,?#mdsnow,?#moco,? #snowquester,?#snow,?#dcwx,?#vawx, ? Search?strings?provided?the?ability?to?look?for?tweets
- 9. How?It?Worked:?Verification ? Is?the?information?from?a?reliable?source? – Was?the?report?made?by?a?trusted?source? – Individuals’?input?desired?but?verified?more?closely ? Is?the?information?confirmed by?several?sources? – Retweets?do?not?qualify ? Does?the?information?fit?into?the?larger?picture?for? the?snow?storm? – Is?this?information?just?“noise”?or?does?it?improve?your? situational?awareness??
- 11. Assessment?of?Beneficial?Posts 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am Need?information?about?Maryland? roadways?and?bridges??Follow? @MDSHA?@MDOTNews @TheMDTA for?the?latest.?#MDSnow You?can?also?follow?our?live? updates?on?Winter?Storm? #Saturn,?including?photos,? storm?reports,?and?analysis? here:?wxch.nl/14oZhb3 MT?@MontgomeryCoMD:?County's?311? Call?Center?is?open?today.?Call?311?(or? 240‐777‐0311?from?a?cell?phone),? bit.ly/YBQlLF.?#mocosnow The?Baltimore?County?Emergency? Operations?Center?will?be?opening? at?10:00a.m.?^JW Va state?police:?I‐81?northbound? Exit?235?(Weyers Cave)?blocked?by? disabled?tractor?trailers. MT?@AndrewFreiden:?Let?me?be? clear.?Snow?will?be?extremely?heavy? through?10?AM?Western?Hanover,? henrico,?Chesterfield.?Don't?drive?#rva Power?out??Please?do?NOT?call? 911!?Use?911?for?true? emergencies!?List?of?power?co's contact?info:? ht.ly/irmTi#mocosnow Help?us?filter?out?the?noise?of?millions?of? tweets?by?using?#MDSnow to?discuss?the? winter?storm?in?#Maryland.?#smem State?Power?Outage?Map:? http://ow.ly/ir5mV? #MDSnow
- 12. May 13-14, 2014 Walter E. Washington Convention Center Washington, DC Initiative?#2:? Situation?Reports?(SITREPs)
- 13. Situation?Reports?(SITREPs) ? CERT?members?developed? 29?SITREPs?from?home ? Provided?a?comprehensive? picture?of?weather? conditions ? SITREPs?were?readily? available?for?decision? makers?within?the?EOC
- 14. 2014?CERT?SITREP?Participation 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 1 2 3 4 NumberofSITREPs Tues, Jan 21 Mon, Feb 3 Thurs, Feb 13 Mon, Mar 3 113 32 125 83
- 15. Expanded?County?Coverage Within one year March 2013 SITREPs February 2014 SITREPs
- 17. Key?Takeaways ? Social?Media?Monitoring?Initiative – Pre‐established?understanding?(proactive?vs?reactive) – Non‐disruptive?EOC?physical?presence?(transparent) ? Observed?verbal?and?nonverbal?cues?within?the?EOC ? Disciplined?in?providing?updates?to?EOC?manager – Overlap?in?shift?times?(debrief) – Same?computer?for?each?shift?(centralized)
- 18. Key?Takeaways?– cont’d ? SITREP?Initiative – Data?available?in?real‐time?at?the?EOC – Complete,?consolidated?report?provided?to?officials?within? 24?hours
- 19. May 13-14, 2014 Walter E. Washington Convention Center Washington, DC Future?Enhancements
- 20. Enhancements:?Team?Participation ? Seek?to?expand?number?of?CERT?members?who? participate – Solicit?participation?at?general?meetings,?social?media? channels,?website,?and?email?messages – Assess?skillsets?before?assigning?to?specific?roles?and? responsibilities ? Example:?Volunteers?who?are?skilled?in?producing,?analyzing,?and? organizing?information?would?be?an?asset?to?use?in?the?EOC?for? monitoring?social?media
- 21. Enhancements:?Training?Offerings ? FEMA?EMI?Training?IS‐42a ? Red?Cross?webinars ? Social?media?basic?training?from?a?variety?of?sources
- 22. Enhancements:?Internal?Training ? Monitoring?strategies – Who?and?What?to?Monitor ? EOC?Standard?Operating?Procedures – Standardize?information?flows?and?formats – Develop?standard?style?of?handout?and?verbal? communication – Identify?set?times?to?report – Identify?instances?where?immediate?communication? would?be?preferred
- 24. Conclusion:?Volunteers ? Volunteers?are?an?effective?resource?for?providing? both?on‐site?and?virtual?support?to?public?safety? agencies? – They?are?always?on?standby?24/7?and?are?available?to? monitor?social?media?traffic? – They?are trustworthy,?credible,?trained,?and?experienced? and?flexible?to?changing?assignments
- 25. May 13-14, 2014 Walter E. Washington Convention Center Washington, DC Thank?You Steve?Peterson Montgomery?County?CERT president@montgomerycert.org @montcocert