Podcast 9 – Social Media During Crisis (We Are Mall Cops)

While we’re all social media users, no one quite uses it like this week’s guest. Rakesh Bharania has the unique need to use social in kevlar as part of the Cisco Tactical Operations  [TacOps] team. He walks the usual team of Geek Whisperers through what it’s like to be in real-world disasters and the power of social used wisely.

Points we hit:

  • Silence in crisis isn’t an option 
  • Focusing on extremes can teach us about our day-to-day
  • Create protocols before you need them
  • We are the mall cops of social media
  • The TacOp team’s Social Media Engagement Protocol

Here are some shots of Amy’s experience with Rakesh and the TacOps team:

amy_first_responder

Excited Social Media-ites

We make mention of the Vatican project that EMC has done, which you can watch here.  We also love the XKCD comic that shows how social media conversation ripples faster than earthquakes.

 

As Rakesh put it:

“Any one person on Twitter saying ‘OMG Quake;’ that’s not really information. But if 5,000 people in Los Angeles within a few seconds say ‘OMG Quake;’ that’s a signal – that’s a tripwire for us.”

 

As a slight addition, we had to ask more about Rakesh’s journey into this space, which you can listen to as a bonus here.

Geek Whisperers – Episode 9 – Continued

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6 Comments

  1. 9 May, 2013
    Reply

    This podcast series has clicked from the very first episode. Episode 9 just ‘knocked it out of the park.’ Amazing content, great conversations – a podcast that makes you think! Well done again.

    • 13 May, 2013
      Reply

      Thanks Stephen, really appreciate your comments and your support!

    • mjbrender
      15 July, 2013
      Reply

      I’m seriously taken aback by the thoughtfulness of your comment Stephen. We’re so glad to have you as a listener!

  2. 14 May, 2013
    Reply

    Wow, only listened to part of the episode so far, but nothing has made me think of switching technical specialties like finding out Cisco has a team of network gurus that goes out and provides disaster relief in times of crisis. Simply never imagined combining my passion for technology and helping people in quite that way.

    Podcast continues to impress – thanks so much for doing it.

    • 14 May, 2013
      Reply

      It’s an inspiring group. Check out the Cisco TACOPS on Facebook. I feel better knowing they’re out there.

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