Nobody could have missed the tragic incidents in Boston this week, but one thing that caught my eye was the live tweeting of what police and other emergency responders were saying over the radio, and how the police asked for…
Blog Archives
Why does SAR Search for Dogs?
There’s a relatively high profile search for a dog under way on Mount Seymour at the moment, and an accompanying amount of local, national and international media coverage. From looking at the comments on some of these web sites, and watching the…
Stop with the Smart Phones already
Last year I wrote about how you should stop using Smart Phones for backcountry navigation. News outlets continue to post comments from local SAR teams highlighting what I wrote about; people using their phones as navigation devices are running the…
Tagged with: backcountry, communications, gear, GPS, opinion, rant, safety, smart phone, social media, technology
Posted in Blog Entry
Posted in Blog Entry
A Social Media Storm
I originally wrote the following as a response to a question in a LinkedIn Group “Do you have a social media policy?”, and although it’s not a direct answer to that question it is an interesting lesson on an undesired effect of…
The idiocy of using social media to call for help
The Canadian Red Cross commissioned Ipsos Reid to conduct a survey on what Canadians expect of social media in an emergency. One of the results they talk about here is that 63% of respondents think emergency responders should answer emergency calls via…
Tagged with: backcountry, communications, GPS, rant, smart phone, smartphone, social media, technology
Posted in Blog Entry
Posted in Blog Entry
Google Public Alerts
Google just announced it’s new Public Alerts service recently. This isn’t like the other Google Alerts service which lets you enter a few search terms and have Google email you when new results are found (although this tool is also useful for…
A Social Media Policy for SAR
If you are rescued by a Search and Rescue team tomorrow, what kind of behaviour would you expect from the team? I know that most people would probably just be grateful to be warm and dry, but the question comes up…
Social Media in SAR Management: Getting The Word Out
I’ve been reading about “SMEM,” or Social Media in Emergency Management. It’s quite a buzz word, and there’s a LOT of talk on the internet about it. Our SAR team has had a few instances where it’s been useful, and…
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