2.4 Embracing Social Media

Wednesday, 26 January 2011: 11:15 AM
309 (Washington State Convention Center)
Michael Gerber, NOAA/NWS, Silver Spring, MD

Social media is transforming the way people communicate in a significant way. A large and growing segment of the population does not know life without the Internet and social media.

Social media facilitates multi-dimensional interactions that influence, shape thoughts and actions. Public and private organizations are increasingly leveraging social media to build relationships with a greater breadth of the community and better communicate their message. Social media can empower small organizations with a big voice and a big following. Moreover, organizations of all sizes are embracing social media to stay relevant and better achieve their goals.

This presentation is intended to inform and spark new ideas of how social media can enhance communication of weather and climate to meet the diverse communication demands of our society. The presentation looks at generational factors that influence the use social media, walks you through National Weather Service (NWS) and the emergency response community's use of social media, shows you where to access NWS data that may be leveraged for social media purposes, and offers a glimpse into the future.

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