There's no way around it: emergency managers have to take social media into consideration when they plan how their EOC will operate during incidents ... I'd make the same parallel with the incident command post for first responders ...

We all know however, there are varying degrees of acceptance and use of social media among the emergency management community in Canada and elsewhere. So the key is to convince executives and officials by showcasing the benefits of social listening during crises. That's the suggested approach taken by Social Catalyst, an Ottawa-based firm that's developing the framework of an SMEOC course on behalf of the Defence Research and Development Canada and its Canadian Security and Safety Program announced with some fanfare last year.

I'm really glad to see this program move forward on social media as it gives encouragement for those of us who've been preaching about the usefulness of SMEM (social media in emergency management). The outlook so far is that there'd be three main components: basic training, advanced training and a module to familiarize executives and EOC directors/managers with SMEM. That last point is crucial to the success of the whole enterprise.

You can view what's being contemplated for the training program here ... Please don't hesitate to add your comments on the LinkedIn group created for that purpose.