The proliferation of social media and mobile technology is creating new challenges for emergency responders. On virtually every call smart phones, helmet cams and more are capturing images and information ready to be uploaded and shared with the world. New questions of personal privacy and freedom of speech for responders using social media off-duty need to be addressed. How do agencies navigate the minefield that is the new social media landscape? This program gives emergency services leaders and providers plenty of take-home resources to create or revise their social media policies and practices including the twenty points that need to be addressed in any guiding social media documents and ten recommendations for responsible social media use by responders. www.RescueDigest.com wwwRomDuck.com

1. Emergency Services
Promotion, Policies
& Practices

2. What Are Your Goals?

3. What do you need?

4. WARNING

5. P.I.E.R.S

6. P.I.E.R.S
 Public Information
◦Informing the public about FD
operations during emergencies.
 Examples
◦ Fire /Rescue / Medical Operations
◦ Courtesy Notifications
◦ Disaster Services
◦ Training Programs

7. Generate Content

8. Social Media Promotion
• Your department should have official
channels for social media across all major
platforms, even if they are not yet used.
• These social media channels should be
clearly identified as official channels and
should contain only relevant content.

9. Social Media Promotion
• Congratulations! Your social media
account puts you in front of the
public at a town hall meeting. What
do you want to let them know?
• Keep in mind not just what you
want to say to the public, but what
your audience wants to hear.

10. Social Media Promotion
• Beyond concerns of HIPAA,
respect the privacy and dignity of
members of your community.
• Be careful posting any pictures of
a scene/incident. It may appear
that you're exploiting someone
else's misfortune.

11. Social Media Promotion
• If you wouldn't want it playing
on a continuous loop on a big
screen outside the firehouse,
don't post it.
• Remember that you cannot
control what happens to a
message once it is posted.

12. Social Media Promotion
• Make alliances with local
reporters and news outlets.
• People may attempt to send
reports of emergencies to your
department via social media.

13. Social Media Monitoring

14. Social Media Promotion
• Think about how the Internet will
misinterpret things.
• If you are unsure ask.
• Read more, post less.
• Don't feed the trolls.

15. Reaching Your Goals

24. Who’s images are they?
• Did you take them with YOUR device?
• Did you take them of FD business or operations?
• Did you take them DURNG business or operations?

25. Pre-Employment

28. Responsible Social Media
• There is no “one-size-fits-all”. Get expert
help in crafting a policy customized for
your organization.
• It isn’t just about social media.
• It is about behavior.
• Ethics and professionalism must guide
behavior both real-world and online.

29. Responsible Social Media
• Agency titles, logos, and other identifying
images identify an individual as a
representative of the department.
• If you are a spokesperson, speak carefully
as such. If not, make specific note you are
speaking as a private individual.
• This is not full protection.

30. Responsible Social Media
• Focuses on the acquisition of information
and images. Distribution is secondary.

31. Responsible Social Media
• Individuals are personally responsible for
information or images that they acquire,
even when posted or redistributed by
others.

32. Responsible Social Media
• Privacy effectively does not exist in the
world of social media.
• The acquisition of information and
digital images may result in these being
shared publicly, even if that is not the
intention of the department member.
• Members are personally responsible for
information or images that they acquire
even when posted or redistributed by
others.

33. Responsible Social Media
• The department may own any
information or images acquired using
department equipment or in the course of
departmental operations.
• The use of any personal equipment to
acquire or transmit images or information
related to dept. operations may cause it to
be considered evidence and maybe subject
to search and seizure

34. Responsible Social Media
• The acquisition of information or images
or the use of social media should never
interfere directly with the responsibilities
of an emergency responder.
• or indirectly with the operation of the
department including undermining the
reputation or cohesion of the department.

35. Responsible Social Media
• Respect the law and other people.
• Ensure that your social media use does not
unintentionally violate laws of
o Defamation
o Discrimination
o Harassment
o Copyright
o Privacy
o Confidentiality

36. Responsible Social Media
•The public has the right
to record and share the
activities of emergency
responders occurring
within public view.

39. Practical Guidelines
• Policies may help indemnify, but
education and real-world practice helps
avoid capitalize on “Wins” and avoid
”disasters”.

40. Practical Guidelines
• Department members should consider
their responsibility when using sharing,
“like”-ing, endorsing, or otherwise
promoting an item on social media.

41. Practical Guidelines
• Use common sense and be respectful.
Consider how your posting could reflect
negatively on you and your agency if it
was posted on the front lawn outside
where you live.

42. Practical Guidelines
• There is no privacy on the Internet.
Remember, you cannot control what
happens to a message once it is posted.

43. Practical Guidelines
• Respect the privacy of patients, victims,
and bystanders as well as responders,
officers, and the department itself.

44. Practical Guidelines
• Respect the law (and other people)
o Defamation
o Discrimination
o Harassment
o Copyright
o Privacy
o Confidentiality

45. Practical Guidelines
• Don’t let the acquisition or posting of
social media content interfere with the job
that you’re here to do.

46. Practical Guidelines
• Just because someone else in another
department is doing it neither makes it
okay, nor the right thing to be doing.

47. Practical Guidelines
• Emergency responders have a special role
in the community and need to respect the
privacy of community members.
• “Free Speech” does not mean there is a
right to say anything to anyone about
anything under all circumstances.

48. Practical Guidelines
• If you feel strongly about a particular
topic, consider taking real-world action to
affect real-world change.

49. Practical Guidelines
• You are already part of something
awesome. Consider contributing instead
of just commenting.

50. Reach your Goals