Note to Social Media Site Providers
FEMA has been engaging in Web 2.0 tools and on social media sites nationwide as part of its mission to prepare the nation for disasters. FEMA's goals with social media are: to provide timely and accurate information related to disaster preparedness response and recovery; provide the public with another avenue for insight into the agency’s operations; and engage in what has already become a critical medium in today’s world of communications. FEMA’s social media ventures function as supplemental outreach, and as appropriate channels for unofficial input.
All FEMA social media accounts outside of the www.FEMA.gov domain carry the branded femainfocus look and feel. This provides consistency and accountability for content in that the public and our partners can rest assured it is the authorized FEMA account and that the information is accurate. Citizens can engage more easily with the emergency management community through social media sites, and increase their role in disaster preparedness, response and recovery.
The following is a list of FEMA.gov – based and social media sites that FEMA uses to engage the public. Read the fact sheet on our use of New Media.
Web 2.0 Resources on www.fema.gov
- RSS Feeds (www.fema.gov/help/rss.shtm) - FEMA currently offers national-level RSS feeds that provide subscribers with automated updated information. Apart from press release and disaster declaration information, subscribers can receive notifications on the issuance of new situation reports and photographs added to the official FEMA photolibrary.
- Widgets (www.fema.gov/help/widgets/ ) - Widgets provide data feeds through transportable well-defined web-based graphical interfaces. This is akin to a "box score" anyone can put on a website they use that is fed data from sources we define.
- Multimedia (www.fema.gov/medialibrary) -The Multimedia site provides contributor an end-user interaction on a .gov platform. This site currently hosts videos, podcasts, photos and text-based documents that are presented in collections related to disasters and subject matter. It permits web 2.0 functions such as embed coding and sharing
Social Media Tools and Sites
We are providing the following links to FEMA's presence on other third party sites for your reference. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.
- Youtube (www.youtube.com/fema) - Video service that provides FEMA opportunity to tell timely and accurate stories of its mission. The FEMA channel is used to help state partners host and share public service announcements, explain federal reimbursement process and mitigation efforts local to specific communities. These short videos provide access to the overall operation and offer an opportunity for the voices within the community to explain how programs affect their lives.
- Twitter (www.twitter.com/femainfocus) - Microblog that gives FEMA the opportunity to direct followers and users of the tool to specific information in a timely manner, such as during emergencies and disasters. There is a national Twitter account and there are regional Twitter accounts. Administrator Craig Fugate also manages a Twitter account, you can view his updates at www.twitter.com/CraigatFEMA
- National (www.twitter.com/femainfocus)
- Region I (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont) (www.twitter.com/femaregion1)
- Region II (New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands) (www.twitter.com/femaregion2)
- Region III (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and W. Virginia) (www.twitter.com/femaregion3)
- Region IV (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, N. Carolina, S. Carolina and Tennessee) (www.twitter.com/femaregion4)
- Region V (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin) (www.twitter.com/femaregion5)
- Region VI (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas) (www.twitter.com/femaregion6)
- Region VII (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska) (www.twitter.com/femaregion7)
- Region VIII (Colorado, Montana, N. Dakota, S. Dakota, Utah and Wyoming) (www.twitter.com/femaregion8)
- Region IX (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, American Samoa, Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Federated States of Micronesia) (www.twitter.com/femaregion9)
- Region X (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington) (www.twitter.com/femaregion10)
- US Fire Administration (www.twitter.com/usfire)
- Facebook (www.facebook.com/fema) - FEMA has been using its FaceBook account since May, 2009 to provide a forum for preparedness information and to engage the public with links and topics.
- Google Books - FEMA has been working with Google Books to provide its published content in a free, easy to access format online. FEMA currently offers publications on preparedness, mitigation and its recovery programs in hard copy through its distribution warehouse. FEMA will be able to provide this content and future content on a broader scale by leveraging the technology and resources available.
If you think FEMA should use other third party sites or new forms of communications tools, then please contact us at FEMA-New-Media@dhs.gov.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 19-Jan-2010 14:50:00 EST