Guest blog by Barry Radford, Canadian Red Cross disaster management volunteer in Muskoka.
*Red Cross Tech Talk looks at different technology or social media tools that pertain to the work we do at the Red Cross. Have an idea? Please let us know!
How can a newly formed Canadian Red Cross Disaster Management Team effectively communicate with volunteers and the local community, in this age of social media?
That's what the newly formed Canadian Red Cross Muskoka-West Parry Sound Disaster Management team faced as we geared up operations over the past six months.
Our region is known for its beautiful lakes, small towns, rock and trees which contribute to making this area desirable but not the best for traditional communication with those who may need our services.
Since this is the 'social media age', more proactive agencies such as the Canadian Red Cross look for ways to harness this new media's potential.
The Canadian Red Cross Muskoka-West Parry Sound Disaster Management team turned to the services of Partnerships Towards Safer Communities to assist in a pilot project. PTSC-Online is a Canadian virtual online community, founded to encourage improvements to emergency management, business continuity and critical infrastructure protection programs.
Bill MacKay, coordinator for the web-based service, offered to create a "space" or mini community within PTSC-Online to support our team. The disaster management team has access to both public and restricted blogs, calendar tools and wiki services which permit us to have two-way communication links to our volunteers for non-emergency communications.
The website supports the Red Cross by facilitating public awareness about the disaster management team to encourage the local communities' personal preparedness, networking among disaster management team members and sharing best practices with Canadian professional and volunteer responders.
This is similar to other spaces such as those used by the National Fire Protection Association. The Networking Partnerships area highlights other partners and organizations.
The pilot project will need some time to find its voice and develop a following before its success can be properly evaluated. We’re off to a great start!