Recognizing that many emergency managers and responders do not have the knowledge or resources to deal with social media Patrice Cloutier recently wrote a couple of articles which may help emergency managers deal with the complexities of social media. Here are links to the articles:

• Creating a Canadian Virtual Operations Support Team
  
• More on Creating the CanVOST

The articles recognize some emergency managers need help to deal effectively with social media during an emergency and there are other emergency managers who understand social media and are willing to help. Due to the nature of social media, that help does not need to be in the same area as the emergency so it can be provided virtually.  This is not a new concept as it has been implemented effectively in other countries but we have not yet taken advantage of it in Canada. 

You can see by the number of views and comments on the articles that there is interest in developing a Canadian Virtual Operations Support Team and Patrice has received a significant amount of support which has been sent directly to him. 

To help those who are interested in working towards the formation of a Canadian Virtual Operations Support Team (CanVOST), PTSC-Online has created a CanVOST space to facilitate the needed communication and collaboration to help it become a reality. It just went on line last night so it is little more than a shell, but with the help of a few dedicated supporters it can soon become a valuable resource. 

If you are interested in supporting the development of a Canadian Virtual Operations Support Team please send me an e-mail asking to be listed as a supporter. If you don't fully understand social media and don't have the resources to deal with it, you may want to follow the discussion to learn more and potentially use CanVOST to support your emergency management program.