Tech Forum

Hello everyone,

Is anyone aware of any plans to incorporate to Skype, facebook, twitter or other social media sites\technologies into emergency plans of local wards and stakes? This idea recently came to mind with a project that I am working at work as well as use of these tools during the earthquake in New Zealand and organizing events in Egypt.

What are your thoughts?
Thank you

robert_rost@hotmail.com wrote:Is anyone aware of any plans to incorporate to Skype, facebook, twitter or other social media sites\technologies into emergency plans of local wards and stakes? This idea recently came to mind with a project that I am working at work as well as use of these tools during the earthquake in New Zealand and organizing events in Egypt.

Stakes and wards are not authorized to create Web sites or blogs or otherwise have a Church-sponsored presence on the Internet other than those created using official Church Internet resources. (See Handbook 2: Administering in the Church, 21.1.22) The Church does use social media sites to extend the visibility of the Church and to coordinate the work of the Church. This use of the social media sites has not been extended to stakes/districts and wards/branches.

The restriction for Church units does not encompass individuals or groups of people who do not put themselves out to represent the Church or any unit of the Church.

With that in mind, what are you thinking about? Good ideas generated on these forums do, from time to time, percolate to the top.

A few things based on my Emergency Communications training:

A disaster tends to create a "communications hole". A area in which communications is disrupted or non-existent. Outside of the hole, things are fairly normal.

It is easier to get a message out of the hole, then to get one into it. And sometimes even easier then trying to communicate within the hole. If you can get a landline, you can generally call out. But trying to call someone in the same area, you may encounter downed lines, or the person is not at that location (having moved in with friends), etc.

Nearly all communication, including social media and wireless devices requires a functioning infrastructure.

Skype - unless I'm overlooking a feature, I'm not sure how useful it would be. You'd need fairly normal broadband communications for it to work, and the person you're trying to contact would have to be "on-line" at the same time. I can see IP phones being useful if you establish a WiFi connection between two buildings.

Facebook - I see it as being useful for trying to locate or find the status of "missing members". I'm not sure as it can be used in a organized way, but as trying to found out things as "friend of a friend" arrangement.

Twitter - This one may have promise. Since it can work over the cell phone SMS service, it may get though when the system is otherwise jammed. The use of hashtags seems to allow some spontaneous networking, but I'm not sure of the details - such as can it be read over SMS.

And when all else fails, there is still Amateur Radio. The Church's Provident Living website provides guidelines for Emergency Communications.

coletheelder wrote:And when all else fails, there is still Amateur Radio.

True. And there are many modes to Amateur Radio. Voice, digital, Slow-scan TV, fast scan TV, APRS, etc. Unfortunately, some modes still depend on infrastructure - such as repeaters. One needs to be careful about the mode(s) selected.

True, some amateur radio modes do depend on 'infrastructure', but others do not. For example, individual operators are using their 'standalone' rigs to facilitate emergency communications around the world for the Japanese emergency.

The IARU Region III Emergency Center of Activity frequencies are

3.600, 7.110, 14.300, 18.160 and 21.360 MHz.

Other suggested emergency frequencies being reported by Amateur Radio operators from Japan include 7.130, 14.230 and 21.230 MHz.

jdlessley wrote:With that in mind, what are you thinking about? Good ideas generated on these forums do, from time to time, percolate to the top.

Yes, there are ears listening. No guarantees that the ideas here will make it "to the top", but it's interesting to note that there will be several social media related projects at the up-coming LDSTech conference. Maybe an idea (or more) will become a social prototype.

Does anyone have any other ideas on how to use social media to help with disaster relief, or other humanitarian efforts?

How would your ward/stake use social media if it were permitted?