President-Elect Donald Trump is right…about one thing… Twitter, kicks ass when it comes to getting a message out. Folks in emergency services better take heed, for more reasons than The Donald’s methods. First, a disclaimer. I didn’t vote for him. ...
Read More »Un-Fatherly Advice
My blood is boiling… I just read this article , and it pissed me off. This “dad” advises, via public proclamation, his son to quit being a firefighter, and go do something else. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!!!! It has been ...
Read More »It’s Groundhog Day All Over Again
Another media attack on career firefighters had a few fire service tongues a wagging this past week. A college professor’s superficial view of professional career firefighters (and their international union) in a Washington Post opinion piece made my friend Dave ...
Read More »The Conundrum Of Frequent Flyers
“Everett firefighters in trouble for leaving homeless man under bridge” was a recent TV station story up in my neck of the woods. You can watch the story here, and read more of the details here. Of course, the Monday ...
Read More »A New Form Of Twerorrism
“Verify twice, tweet once” is a mantra continually hammered home whenever quickly evolving, controversial or incredulous situations breaks on social media. But, an unsettling New York Times piece published yesterday reveals new challenges in “verifying twice”, and should be required ...
Read More »It’s A New Day
I’m stating it right up front: The recent introduction of Meerkat and Periscope will soon turn the world of #SMEM for emergency response professionals upside down. Let me explain. Last month I heard about Meerkat, a live streaming app that used ...
Read More »More On Meerkat
Well, it’s been two and a half weeks since I blogged on the new #SM kid in town, Meerkat. As the #SXSW conference started, the buzz over this new live streaming video tool evolved into a roar. It became the ...
Read More »Is It Time For Meerkat?
In a few days the iconic South By Southwest (SXSW) festival opens in Austin, Texas. The future of music, film and computer technology is presented and explored, including new social media apps. Twitter was introduced there in 2007 and Foursquare ...
Read More »Tin Cans and String
WTH? I can’t believe what I just read. The Washington DC Fire Department, located in the heart of federal grant land, cant’ even communicate with other agencies during emergencies. Last month’s deadly Metro subway fire exposed big time problems with ...
Read More »It’s Time To Herd The Cats
“Volunteers bring risk that is hard to manage.” This recent tweet, made by someone with purported emergency management experience, was made in response to my asking the question about several tweets they posted discounting the concept of using volunteers for ...
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