The world has changed post floods and cyclones. The devastation was tragic and widespread throughout Queensland, with many communities still trying to recover.
The impact for the Queensland Police Service (QPS) Media and Public Affairs Branch has also been significant. Our use of social media during these crises has been well documented, but what happens next?
We established Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts last year to ensure we had an online community of followers before a disaster occurred. Little were we to know natural disasters of such magnitude were just around the corner, or that so many people would turn to our social media accounts for information in a crisis.
At the EMPA conference, I’ll give some brief insights into the incredibly rapid growth of our social media accounts during the crises, how we managed them and how we were able to improve our service to the media and community through the use of social media. I will also touch on where we go from here as the QPS looks to the future of managing large communities of online followers.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it – check us out on Facebook or follow us on Twitter, @QPSmedia.
-Simon Kelly
Simon is the Acting Deputy Director, Queensland Police Service Media and Public Affairs Branch and will deliver a paper at the EMPA conference on Queensland Police Service’s use of social media during the recent Queensland floods.
According to a report that was prepared for the QLD Dept of Public Works, QPS Media (Queensland Police Service) were the most looked to source in Social Media for the latest info, news and advice during the QLD Floods , and they did an outstanding job.
Apparently, I was the second most looked to source – a lone tweeter operating out of a house in the Whitsundays.
http://whitsundaysonline.blogspot.com/2011/01/whitsundays-local-helps-queenslanders.html
Regards
jd
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