FAQs

1. What is a wiki?

  • A wiki is a website that can be edited by people within their web browser
  • It is a type of collaborative web space in which users are encouraged to add or modify content to add value
  • The best known site is Wikipedia, a free online user-created encyclopedia
  • Wikis are used for community websites, corporate intranets and knowledge management systems

2. What will the Emergency 2.0 Wiki be used for?

  • The Emergency 2.0 Wiki will be a reference source for emergency agencies, government, community agencies, business and the broader community for information about to utilise social media and web 2.0 to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies
  • It will provide up to date news on the latest developments in emergency 2.0 and emergency communications
  • It will provide a forum for sharing emerging web2.0 technology and how to apply it in an emergency context

3. What will it contain?

  • Guidelines on how to use social media in all emergency phases. These guidelines would include checklists, templates and tools
  • Links to government guidelines on the use of social media (eg QLD Government Official Use of Social Media Guidelines) and on emergency management (eg Emergency Management Australia Manuals)
  • Links to key sites:
    • Emergency Information eg ABC Emergency, Bureau of Meteorology, Google, Queensland Police Service, SES, Emergency Management Queensland
    • Donations/Volunteering sites:
      • traditional (eg Red Cross, Volunteering Qld)
      • community driven (eg FloodAid, QldFloods.org)
  • Resource section, for sharing emergency 2.0 resources eg videos on “How to sandbag your home or business” (produced by Brisbane City Council and SES and posted on YouTube) and smart phone applications such as the CFA Fire Ready App.
  • Up to date news of the latest developments in emergency 2.0
  • Integration with social media channels/tools to encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing including:

4. Who will use it?

Users of the Wiki will include:
  • Emergency agencies
  • Government agencies including schools
  • Community agencies and nonprofits
  • Business
  • The Media
  • The Public

5. What emergencies will it cover?

The Emergency 2.0 Wiki will cover the full spectrum of major emergencies that can impact a community eg:
  • Natural disasters such as floods, cyclones, bushfires and earthquakes
  • Manmade emergencies such as train/bus/plane crashes, gas leaks/chemical spills/terrorism
  • Health emergencies such as pandemics

6. Why do we need to use web 2.0 and social media in emergency communications?

During the recent disasters, we saw that traditional technologies and methods alone could not cope sufficiently with the magnitude of the events and the demand from the public to access information and help… as websites crashed, phone networks went down and call centres amassed unmanageable queues.

We have witnessed the power of social media utilised:

  • To instantly broadcast and amplify emergency warnings and information
  • To use as a  lifeline enabling people to request rescue
  • To ‘crowdsource’ information from the public
  • To provide real-time interactive maps
  • To withstand the onslaught of millions seeking online information
  • To use as an online billboard to post messages for family and friends that they are safe and to search for missing loved ones
  • To galvanise and mobilise the community to volunteer or make donations.

Most importantly we have witnessed the empowering nature of social media in enabling the public to seek information for themselves, to share information with others and to make direct contact with people in need.

7. Why do we need an emergency 2.0 wiki?

Despite its rising popularity in society, the use of  web2.0 and social media is still not yet a normal part of mainstream emergency communications. Key reasons for this are the challenge and risk that this new technology poses.

In Queensland, leading agencies such as the Queensland Police Service, Ergon Energy and Brisbane City Council demonstrated in their use of social media during the floods and cyclone that these challenges can be overcome and risks can be mitigated. What we need is a modus operandi – practical guidelines that organisations can follow to ensure that they effectively use these tools in emergency communications while minimising risk. Guidelines that can be used by all sectors of the community: government, community and business to help our communities better prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies.

We also need to empower the public with knowledge on how they can use social media and web 2.0 in emergencies by providing practical tips and links to key resources such as emergency smart phone apps.

Imagine if our entire community harnessed the power of social media – combining technology and their social networks to provide a communication lifeline during emergencies? For examples of what an emergency 2.0 empowered community could look like, please visit the Future Scenarios pages.

8. Why a Wiki and not a Website or Blog?

There are many reasons why we are utilising a wiki as opposed to a website or blog and these are outlined below:

Access to best practice via crowdsourcing

The Emergency 2.0 Wiki resources will be developed from crowd sourcing guidelines, templates and tools on using social media in emergencies and applying learnings from the recent disasters. The ‘wisdom of the crowd’ from each of the key sectors: emergency, government, community, ICT sector, volunteer technical community, business and the media will be called on to review and provide input. Where gaps exist, we will crowdsource current best practice ‘business as usual’ social media guidelines, templates and tools for adaption for emergency management.

Co-Creation of Knowledge and Innovation

Local challenges are often global challenges – particularly in an area like emergency management. Because the wiki will be created collaboratively, crowdsourcing information and ideas from the global community, new concepts and knowledge on how to apply web2.0 to emergency management will be created.

Currency

Because web2.0 and social media technology and trends are changing so rapidly, information quickly becomes out of date. As the Emergency 2.0 Wiki will be an online ‘living set of documents and links’ it will be continually updated to incorporate new technologies and methodologies.

Online collaboration and shared understandings among the emergency, government, community and business sectors

Bringing the emergency, government, community and business sectors together to collaborate online to create guidelines and share information, will encourage shared understandings between the sectors and help bridge silos. This will be facilitated by the discussion pages on the Wiki itself and linked interactive tools such as the LinkedIn Forum, the Blog and Twitter channel and feeds. This will also help build stronger communities ‘offline’.

Building relationships in the emergency 2.0 community – globally

The Emergency 2.0 Wiki will enable relationship building in the global emergency 2.0 community. As part of the stakeholder engagement process, alliances will be established with groups such as Social Media for Emergency Management (SM4EM), Crisis Commons, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM).

Greater opportunities for input and engagement

The Emergency 2.0 Wiki will offer multiple opportunities for people to have input and get involved, allowing for a wide range of interests, ideas, capacities, skills and perspectives – while being inclusive, eg:
  • Writing content
  • Editing content
  • Peer reviewing and commenting on discussions about suggested content
  • Contributing to the LinkedIn discussions
  • Sharing news, emerging best practice, resources
  • Commenting on the Blog entries
  • Joining the Twitter conversation

Providing input encourages a sense of ownership and buyin, therefore increasing the chance of takeup

Acceptance and takeup of new procedures and technologies has far greater success if it is user led and input is enabled. Collaboration and input on the Emergency 2.0 Wiki will foster a sense of shared ownership and encourage takeup and implementation.

Higher value input

Because the wiki content will be created by people physically editing the online documents and demonstrating ideas in an applied context, the content is likely to be of higher value.

Transparency

A Wiki allows for transparent and open engagement in developing the guidelines, templates and tools as people will be able to view the discussion tab linked to each page.

9. Where is the Wiki being driven from?

  • The Wiki is being driven from Australia (it’s an initiative of the gov2qld community of practice), however it is being steered by Reference Groups consisting of members from all over the world.
  •  Alliances – local, national and international will be developed to foster collaboration
For more information please see About Us

10. How will you ensure the legitimacy of the information on the Wiki?

While we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information on the Wiki, we have established a governance framework in an effort to ensure its legitimacy, usefulness and quality. This includes:

  • The Wiki Working group (established the framework and draft wiki ready for collaborative input) is drawn from professionals working in the emergency, government, community, ICT, business, education and media sectors.
  • Reference Groups overseeing key sections of the wiki are drawn from the key sectors above from across the globe.
  • Alliances – local, national and international will be developed with key organisations and groups such as the Business Continuity Institute of Australasia, the Risk Management Institute of Australasia, SMEM.
  • Contributors to the Wiki (developing or editing content) need to register by applying for membership of the Emergency 2.0 LinkedIn Group, which will display the professional credentials of its members.
  • Key pages will be locked.

11. How can I contribute to the Wiki?

There are lots of ways that you can contribute to the Emergency 2.0 Wiki, eg:

  • Writing content
  • Editing content
  • Peer reviewing and commenting on discussions about suggested content
  • Contributing to the LinkedIn discussions
  • Sharing news, emerging best practice, resources
  • Promoting the Wiki to your networks, tweeting and blogging about it!
  • Helping us establish alliances

To write or edit content you will need to register by applying for membership of the Emergency 2.0 LinkedIn Group, which will display the professional credentials of its members.

12. Will the Wiki provide live (real-time) emergency information and advice?

No. It is not the purpose of the wiki to provide live emergency information and advice. The wiki’s purpose is to empower the community with the knowledge to use web2.0 and social media to provide, access and share real time, localised emergency information and advice. This includes emergency agencies, government agencies and schools, community agencies and nonprofits, business, the media and the public. For examples of what an emergency 2.0 empowered community could look like, please visit the Future Scenarios pages. Links to online and social media sites of key agencies will be provided including the ABC emergency site, Queensland Police Media Facebook and Twitter and global sites such as Google Crisis Response, Ushahidi and Crisis Commons. It is important to also emphasise that the wiki is managed by volunteers.