Comments on: Creating an emergency notification system in 15 hours http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2010/10/21/emergency-planning-tool-sms/ A conversation. Wed, 16 May 2012 16:38:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Media and PR links: Crisis communications platform, book review, and more… | Wadds' PR Blog http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2010/10/21/emergency-planning-tool-sms/#comment-16958 Media and PR links: Crisis communications platform, book review, and more… | Wadds' PR Blog Wed, 27 Oct 2010 10:53:01 +0000 http://onlinejournalismblog.com/?p=10661#comment-16958 [...] Creating an emergency notification system in 15 hours Paul Bradshaw describes how attendees at a recent hackathon created a communication platform that has numerous applications in crisis communications [...] [...] Creating an emergency notification system in 15 hours Paul Bradshaw describes how attendees at a recent hackathon created a communication platform that has numerous applications in crisis communications [...]

]]> By: Paul Bradshaw http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2010/10/21/emergency-planning-tool-sms/#comment-16957 Paul Bradshaw Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:36:41 +0000 http://onlinejournalismblog.com/?p=10661#comment-16957 A really good point - thanks. Will pass that on to the team. A really good point – thanks. Will pass that on to the team.

]]> By: bemedia http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2010/10/21/emergency-planning-tool-sms/#comment-16956 bemedia Sun, 24 Oct 2010 09:47:47 +0000 http://onlinejournalismblog.com/?p=10661#comment-16956 The crowdalert app sounds like a fantastic piece of work in a short space of time – and certainly one that has a myriad of potential uses, not just by media covering public emergencies. My question is whether anything that relies on SMS will be reliable enough during, and in the immediate aftermath of, major incidents, given the overload and regular failure of mobile networks in those situations (e.g.London 7/7). We’ve had the tragic Black Saturday fires (Feb 2009) in Australia where, again, mobile phone networks either could not cope with the volume or (as in many cases here) the main transmitters were destroyed. The authorities are experimenting with SMS alerts in advance of major risk days. But one of the most innovative things I witnessed during the days that followed was the way one of the media sites used CoverItLive. They turned it into an online equivalent of the yellow sticky note board, to help connect people (from all around the world) with information on the whereabouts of the missing. It was deluged with thousands of msgs to and from members of the public. The journalists couldn’t keep pace with moderation. Eventually, a handful of users self-moderated and kept the board flowing – a cross between wiki, microblog and IM. Anything that can help connect and reassure people in those desperate situations is a truly worthwhile tool. The crowdalert app sounds like a fantastic piece of work in a short space of time – and certainly one that has a myriad of potential uses, not just by media covering public emergencies.

My question is whether anything that relies on SMS will be reliable enough during, and in the immediate aftermath of, major incidents, given the overload and regular failure of mobile networks in those situations (e.g.London 7/7).
We’ve had the tragic Black Saturday fires (Feb 2009) in Australia where, again, mobile phone networks either could not cope with the volume or (as in many cases here) the main transmitters were destroyed. The authorities are experimenting with SMS alerts in advance of major risk days.

But one of the most innovative things I witnessed during the days that followed was the way one of the media sites used CoverItLive. They turned it into an online equivalent of the yellow sticky note board, to help connect people (from all around the world) with information on the whereabouts of the missing. It was deluged with thousands of msgs to and from members of the public. The journalists couldn’t keep pace with moderation. Eventually, a handful of users self-moderated and kept the board flowing – a cross between wiki, microblog and IM. Anything that can help connect and reassure people in those desperate situations is a truly worthwhile tool.

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