A presentation delivered to the South Dakota Homeland Security Conference on behalf of the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center.

1. HOW TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA
IN AN EMERGENCY
SITUATION
Presented by Sarah K. Miller, NDPTC

2. FIRST, WHY USE IT AT ALL?
• The public is using it and expects to find us there
• NIMS Refresh includes social media components
• Specifically as part of Public Information and Situation Unit

3. WHO USES SOCIAL MEDIA
• According to Pew Research in 2015:
• 90% of 18-29 year olds
• 35% of those 65+
• Higher income levels are more likely to
use, but 50%+ of those in the lowest
income bracket now do also
• 58% of rural residents, 68% of
suburban residents, and 64% of urban
residents

4. PLATFORMS

5. MOST POPULAR PLATFORMS
0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 1,600 1,800
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Millions of Users
Millions of Users

6. MOST POPULAR PLATFORMS BY AGE
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Facebook
Pinterest
Instagram
LinkedIn
Snapchat
Twitter
Teens Adults

7. HOW IS SOCIAL MEDIA EVOLVING
• More from Pew Research
• 68% of Americans have smartphones
• 86% of those ages 18-29
• 83% of those ages 30-49
• Nearly 45% of adults have tablet
computers

9. GENERAL PRO TIPS
• Have a policy
• Cover organizational use (who, what, when, how, why)
• Cover personal use (can employees be disciplined for what they do on their personal
time?)
• Train all employees on the policy
• Abide by platform policies
• Learn what platforms YOUR community is using
• Post messages specific to each platform
• If you post engaging content, the crowd will spread your message

10. SECURITY PRO TIPS
• Use two-factor authentication (https://twofactorauth.org/)
• Use strong passwords
• At least 8 characters, using letters, numbers, symbols
• DO have at least one other trusted person who has critical passwords
• Don’t share passwords/accounts with anybody else (use team features)
• Limit use of 3rd party apps

11. PRIVACY PRO TIPS
• Don’t share personal information about yourself
• Don’t share personal information about people you’re posting about
• Get permission before sharing photos (if not in a public place)
• Don’t tag people in photos

12. TWO BASIC CONCEPTS
Push Information
• General public information
• Emergency information
• Requests for information
• Should be interactive
Pull Information
• Sentiment monitoring
• Crowdsourcing
• Datamining
• Generally not interactive

13. GENERAL PUBLIC INFORMATION
• Build an audience
• Build your reputation and credibility
• Post interesting, relevant content

15. EMERGENCY INFORMATION
• Keep it succinct
• Make it actionable
• Make it relevant
• Make it easy to repost
• Be prepared to deal with rumors

17. REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION
• Ask the public to share with you
• Can be routine information, “tips”, or emergency information

19. LIVE STREAMING
• Periscope
• Facebook
• YouTube (beta)

23. PULLING INFORMATION
• Requests for assistance
• Sentiment Monitoring
• Crowdsourcing
• Data mining
• Use for operational purposes
• Use for intelligence gathering

24. REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE
From Standby Task Force/Nepal From IMSOCIO/Super Storm Sandy
Gas Station Map

25. DATA MINING AND CROWDSOURCING
• Gathering up the large amounts of data that the public shares
• Has to be analyzed and turned into actionable intelligence
• Some is readily actionable, while most has to be confirmed
• We can get some information that’s geotagged, but harder now that people are
more privacy savvy

26. DC EARTHQUAKE DATA MINING

28. TAGBOARD

29. CREEPY
• A geolocation OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) tool
• Customizable monitoring tool
• Pulls geotagged posts from Flickr, Twitter, and Instagram
• Pulls account based posts from Flickr, Twitter, Instagram, and Google+
• Can be based on accounts or on location

30. PERSON BASED SEARCH
• Donald Trump’s
geotagged posts on
Twitter and
Instagram

31. LOCATION BASED SEARCH

32. DRILLED DOWN

33. PINPOINTED

34. IAWACS

35. IAWACS PERSONALITY PROFILE

36. MANAGING ALL THIS
• Tweetdeck
• Hootsuite
• Volunteers/VOST

37. HOOTSUITE

38. HOOTSUITE FEATURES
• Free version
• Schedule posts
• Up to three networks/accounts
• Columns
• Mobile app
• Paid Version
• Unlimited networks
• Add team members

39. TWEETDECK

40. TWEETDECK FEATURES
• Twitter only
• Columns
• Scheduled posts
• Manage multiple accounts
• Team function (free)

41. VOLUNTEERS & VOSTS
• Yes, you CAN use volunteers to do this
• Virtual Operations Support Teams (VOSTs)
• Volunteer to help YOU, but are often pros in this field
• Other volunteers
• Can monitor from wherever they are
• Ham Radio
• CERT
• Explorers, other police volunteers
• General public

42. EXAMPLES OF VOLUNTEER WORK
• Standby Task Force: http://www.standbytaskforce.org/
• Humanity Road: http://humanityroad.org/
• Crisis Mappers: http://crisismappers.net/

43. YMMFIRE
• Large fire, going on right now in Fort McMurray, AB
• Community members organizing: https://www.facebook.com/Fort-McMurray-Evacuee-
Open-Source-Help-Page-1542379816069211/
• Lots on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&vertical=news&q=%23YMMFIRE&src=typd

44. AVAILABLE FREE TRAINING
• FEMA
• IS-42: Social Media in Emergency
Management (online)
• http://training.fema.gov/is/courseovervi
ew.aspx?code=IS-42
• NDPTC http://ndptc.Hawaii.edu
• PER 304: Social Media for Natural
Disaster Response and Recovery
(classroom)
• Social Media Engagement Strategies
(coming soon)
• Social Media Tools and Techniques
(coming soon)

45. CONTACT ME
• Sarah Miller
• Twitter: @scba
• LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/skmiller
• Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/scba21
• E-mail: sarah@skmillerconsulting.com
• Schedule NDPTC Training
• https://ndptc.hawaii.edu/training/training_request