The advent of Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media have established a role in everyday communications and are being used by church groups during disasters. The role of social media during such events was a topic at the annual Fayette County Faith-based Disaster Network Conference held Feb. 8 at New Hope Baptist Church.
The presentation on the use of social media by faith-based organizations during times of disaster was made by Ga. Dept of Public Health District 4 Risk Communicator Hayla Folden and Monroe County EMA Director Matt Perry.
Folden and Perry during the session noted things to do and things to avoid when using social media sites during disasters.
Among the suggestions of “things to do” were connecting with local agencies managing the disaster, using a hashtag (#) on Twitter for continuity and learning the lingo associated with various sites.
“If you don’t learn the lingo, you’ll be lost,” Perry said.
Folden agreed, noting the difficulty in communicating on Twitter in less than 140 characters.
Other things “to do” included assigning disaster communications jobs to someone who knows what they’re doing so that information can be disseminated correctly, developing a media account prior to a disaster and becoming familiar with the many abbreviations associated with some social media sites.
There were also suggestions on things “not to do” on social media sites. Those recommendations by Perry and Folden included avoiding arguing or responding stiffly, avoiding confusing work and personal accounts and, as important as any suggestion, avoid giving social media responsibility to the wrong person.
Other sessions at the conference included a presentation by the National Weather Service, an overview of the Ga. Emergency Management Agency, an amateur radio overview, and presentations on voluntary organizations active in disasters, plans for an active shooter in churches and another on emerging threats and how to protect yourself.
The Fayette County Emergency Management Agency in 2012 embarked on a new initiative called the Fayette County Faith-based Disaster Network. Now in its second year, the purpose of the initiative is to better coordinate the many individual volunteers and faith-based organizations that are willing to assist emergency management agencies and their community during times of disaster.
