In the world of Twitter, Facebook , YouTube and everything else that demands instantaneous information sharing it is horrible to see an event occur and the only information that comes out is rumour, guesses and innuendo.
Today, I watched virtually as a passenger train derailment occurred in the region that I live in. In fact, I was out with my family today and we weren’t to far from the location where the event occurred.
Photo via @CTVToronto
Like so many others, I learned about the event on Twitter and I stayed with the information all afternoon and into the evening.
I re-tweeted, shared, read and analyzed the information that was flying across the cyber stream. I shared a tweet about the number of fatalities that had been reported. Then I retweeted another number, I quoted another number then I realized, no one knew what they were talking about.
Kind of sums it up
I wasn’t seeing what I would consider “qualified expertise” speaking in the space. I saw reporters, camera operators, news agencies. They were attributing the valid information to the police, EMS, the Mayor, the police, fire, the Mayor…
Oh my. This incredible amount of information was flying around and there was no “voice of authority” speaking. Incredibly sensitive facts being shared with the public and not one involved agency confirming, denying or reassuring.
Maybe I’m being a bit too critical. Maybe it’s a little too much to expect that in an emergency incident, there should be someone official speaking to the virtual scene. It could be very possible that there were other priorities that needed to be attended to which precluded the authorities from updating the Twitter.
We were left to receive our information literally from, all over the place. Yes, you can say that the media was well entrenched in the Twitter scene and they were passing along the info they were receiving. 1 dead, 3 dead, 1 dead, 2 dead, none dead, 3 dead…where was the media getting their information? I saw one media outlet, quote an emergency agency from another jurisdiction. Really?
Looking at the streams, there was no IMS discussed. No directions for the public. No information for people with loved ones on the train to know where to call / go.
A while back I wrote an article about police getting caught up in the “breaking news” phenomena. This was a case that was just the opposite. There was no breaking news for the police, fire or EMS.
Is this a problem?
Well on one hand, it has become expected that people will turn to the social media space for their information and if you are there, you’ll be expected to provide it.
On the other hand…what if you’re not in the space? You can’t really provide information in a medium that you don’t engage in.
The reality
The job got done! The injured were identified, triaged, evacuated and transported. The deceased were identified and their families notified. The investigation was commenced. The scene was identified and made safe. Updates were given, information posted and reported.
In cases where there is no social media presence available, or there is no time to get to the streams, the show must go on. Traditional systems of information must be present…and for goodness sakes. Make a freakin’ decision that someone in a position of authority is going to speak.
Decide between all your responding agencies, who will be taking the lead, share your information with each other so that the people who need it, get it..the PUBLIC!
Social media would have been a nice addition, but the job still got done without it. But, having said that…if you are instituting the IMS system or are dealing in an emergency management situation, you are failing your communication strategy if you have not included or instituted social media into that system.
Was anything done right?
On a high note for this event…I take my hat off and give a huge nod to the Twitter Account, @VIA_Rail ^NK and ^RM did an amazing job.
They were working under terrible conditions, having learned that 3 members of their working family had lost their lives. They were being ‘yelled’ at on Twitter because the system suffered delays. They were asked questions that no one had the answers to yet and on and on…and through it all. They answered everyone professionally and systematically.
What do you think? Let me know.
Brother Tim,
I deeply appreciate you and Patrice Cloutier
http://crisiscommscp.blogspot.com/2012/02/monitoring-real-life-events-challenge.html
…sharing your perspective from a nearby vantage point. I watched from afar at the outset with both admiration and pain (virtually and IRL) as the situation unfolded. In a nutshell, I strongly opine that social media was neither the problem or a solution for the problems you, Patrice and so many others noted.
It was simply – as you allude: a failure in crisis communication, in which a joint information system (not center) would have made all the difference in – and for – the world.
While I was indeed heartened and impressed by VIA Rail’s Twitter personal responsiveness to my and other inquiries [though largely the digital equivalent of “no comment”], I found it perplexing that they overlooked/failed to offer a simple baseline clarification as to what was clearly known [emphasis] to have happened.
With patrons across the globe choosing to use Via Rail as their preferred manner of regional and nationwide travel in Canada, the global audience could not (solely) from the official @Via_Rail Twitter feed even determine what Province the vaguely – make that *non-described* incident happened.
We can only imagine if Air Canada (used as but one example of another common carrier) said “one of our planes has had an incident somewhere” – and offered little else in the hours that followed.
Clearly, there was not a necessity for @Via_Rail or others to offer everything at once – and certainly not the cause, but the undeniable basics:
At least 3 of the 5W’s could and should have been offered via the rail carrier’s Twitter account from the outset, and could have been done so without compromising any investigation.
In the absence of a simple explanation, millions needlessly contemplated…
Was it a bombing focused on one – or more trains? An off-train event where a man with a machete attacked patrons at a train station? A militant group with machine guns holding the train hostage? A mass case of food poisoning from the Dining Car? A fire that raced through a Sleeping Car? A reported collision at a grade crossing?
Or as it should have been… “an apparent derailment of Train #92, near Aldershot, Ontario with more details to follow”.
Of course, this would ideally be followed not only by facts, but by the pertinent negatives so necessary over (hopefully short) time to abolish fear, uncertainty and doubt.
As I mentioned on Patrice’s blog, my comments are offered in 20/20 hindsight, and I was thankfully privy to many of the multiple channels of information that he and you were. But erasing those outside influences and looking solely @VIA_Rail on Twitter – as well as local, regional and Provincial agencies, I think it becomes clear that there is room for improvement, and that the hard-working folks at those agencies, including those operating the Twitter accounts deserve not only encouragement, but a clear message that more can and should be done in future crisis.
The problem and solution are not technology, but well planned and practiced crisis communications, ideally through a Joint Information System.
Respectfully Yours – and Speaking my Personal Thoughts,
Brian Humphrey
Thanks so much Brian for the time you dedicated to that comment. This post and some behind the scenes talks have really highlighted some of the troubles that are experienced in this area. I’m happy to say, there will be more attention paid to what happens as we move forward.
People like yourself and Patrice and many others share in the success and how that will evolve to the public safety realm at large.
Thank you again!
Having been a part of some previous disasters (mapping to aide in response) and been trained in the IMS system, I think you said it best with this line —
“if you are instituting the IMS system or are dealing in an emergency management situation, you are failing your communication strategy if you have not included or instituted social media into that system.”
Social Media can’t be underestimated. There are a lot of people reading, and a lot of people wanting to share. But we need to share the right message.
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