A PIER Systems Inc. White Paper

By Gerald Baron
Founder, PIER Systems, Inc.
April, 2009

Corporations, government agencies and other organizations are rapidly adopting Twitter and other social media technologies. These new technologies are significantly enhancing the capability of agencies to respond with fast updates of information; but without appropriate policies and procedures in place, agencies using these tools in an Incident Command System and Joint Information Center environment may violate basic National Incident Management Systems requirements—and run the risk of miscommunicating when credibility is most at stake.

The Joint Information Center (JIC) was created out of the Incident Command System (ICS), which itself evolved out of the joint operations of agencies fighting wildfires in the 1970s. The JIC is the communication arm of a multi-agency response and all of its activities fall under the authority of the Incident Commander (IC) or Unified Command (UC). The rule is simple—no information can be released to anyone outside of the response without the approval of the IC/UC. The JIC and communication function is led by the Public Information Officer (PIO), a member of the Command Staff. The PIO is responsible for meeting the information requirements of the response and ensuring information discipline. This also means that all agencies participating in the response can release information only through the JIC. Subverting this removes the control dedicated to the IC, and undermines a fundamental benefit of the JIC—allowing the response to speak with a single voice.

Under NIMS, any multi-agency response requires the use of the JIC. The PIO managing the JIC must ensure that information discipline maintained and IC approval is exercised. Communication about the response outside of the JIC and without IC/UC approval violates NIMS requirements.

Information Discipline and Social Media

The problem with using social media technologies such as Twitter and YouTube in a Joint Information Center are obvious. The very concept works against the idea of information discipline. Twitter enables anyone with email access or a cell phone with text messaging capabilities to instantly add content to a website. YouTube similarly allows anyone to submit videos for distribution on the Internet using a web browser. While these and other social media technologies make it remarkably easy for anyone to share information widely, this ability undermines efforts to maintain information discipline including IC and PIO approval authority.

One of the most noted cases of the loss of information discipline in a JIC environment was the Sago Mine incident on January 2, 2006. A JIC member misunderstood a garbled cell phone message to say that the trapped miners had been found alive. In complete violation of JIC protocol, he contacted a family member waiting in the church nearby and told them the good news. It was immediately spread to great celebration in the church and almost immediately after, to the world through the media; but it wasn’t true. The JIC member had misunderstood the radio message. The tragedy was compounded by the false information.

Instant Information and the Information Discipline Conundrum

Today it is commonplace for reporters to use Internet search tools and special Twitter monitoring tools such as twitscoop.com to, in effect, be at the scene of whatever is happening in mere seconds. No longer dependent on news helicopters to arrive quickly on the scene, reporters enlist the millions of “citizen journalists” with cell phones to provide instant updates directly from the scene of an incident. More and more news stories are provided by on-scene citizens using cell phones and cameras. The first news from US Airways Flight 1549, including the first photo, came via Twitter.

This means that the JIC has less control over information flow relating to an event. It also means that the information flow from the JIC will quickly become irrelevant if it does not keep pace with the latest information coming from sources outside of the response. This is a very difficult dilemma. There is no point in a JIC if it is too slow distributing information because no one will pay attention. Yet, to get information out at the speed of the eyewitnesses using the latest social media tools means completely revising the existing processes and procedures. How can you be fast enough to meet the demand for instant information and still meet the requirement for information discipline?

Revising Joint Information Center Policies and Operational Plans

There is no hope of making the necessary changes unless both Public Information Officers and Incident Commanders understand the dilemma of today’s information management. Delaying release of information or slowing the process in order to “get it right” means the JIC will be irrelevant. Even worse, if the information coming from the JIC is out of date and clearly inaccurate based on easily verifiable facts (such as confirming the number of injuries or fatalities), the JIC will not only be irrelevant, it will lose credibility and not be seen by the public, or the media, as a reliable source of current information.

To solve this problem, the following steps must be implemented by today’s PIOs and Incident Commanders:

• Fast approval of individual facts
• Increased autonomy while maintaining information discipline
• Continuous web updates and direct distributions
• Maintain full spectrum monitoring
• Make use of appropriate social media technologies

Fast Approval of Individual Facts

Despite the need for speed, it is still very important that facts coming out of the Joint Information Center be accurate. The size and scope of the incident, the reality of its impact on people’s lives and property, the safety of responders and those impacted, and the immediate activities and plans of the response team, must be communicated in a simple, straightforward and factual method. Any relevant fact needs to be checked with the appropriate section of the response, then verified with the IC/UC as soon as possible. Once approved, the fact needs to be conveyed immediately to those dealing with inquiries and to the production team responsible for updates on the website. This fact-by-fact approval process should replace the time consuming and burdensome process that currently exists in many JICs.

Increased Autonomy

Incident Commanders demonstrate far too frequently that while they trust those within the operational response to make appropriate decisions, that trust does not extend to the Joint Information Center function. As a response will be hampered significantly with too little delegation of authority, so will the communication about the response. Well-founded trust combined with clear policies is the only solution. As IC must trust the PIO and his or her decisions, the PIO must also trust the JIC staff. This is best accomplished through consistent drills involving the Incident Commander. Since that is not always possible, Incident Commanders and PIOs need to have a way of coming to terms with the basic policies and plans regarding communication very early in a response. A brief policy and plan document that describes planned operation of the PIO function and the JIC may go a long way to build trust and enable coordinated and effective decision-making.

Continuous Web Updates and Information Distributions

All JICs now need an incident-specific website with access not controlled by one agency but by the JIC itself. In the social media world the JIC website must be the focal point for a constant flow of information updates. If the technology or JIC processes used cannot ensure that new facts go from discovered, to approved, to published on the website in less than fifteen minutes, an inadvertent decision has been made to render the JIC irrelevant. PIOs who have used Twitter as a means of updating audiences on fast moving events have clearly demonstrated the value and popularity of this continuous flow. Once audiences—media and key stakeholders—understand that it is possible to deliver timely, accurate information, they demand it. Failure to meet their expectations results in a loss of trust and credibility.

Full Spectrum Monitoring

Monitoring the media has always been a key function of the JIC. This also includes monitoring other key external audiences such as elected officials and community members. The job is much more complex than it used to be. It is not sufficient to have someone in the JIC tasked with buying newspapers and installing a television with cable or satellite. Full spectrum monitoring should encompass all forms of media including print, online, blogs, cable, broadcast and social media sites.

Monitoring needs to include coordination with those answering media, public and stakeholder inquiries because questions or comments often reveal information vital to the response. Experience has shown that once an issue, rumor or misinformation is identified through the Inquiry Management function, it can be managed by proactively addressing it in the next information releases distributed and published on the website.

Social media must also be monitored. While standard tools such as Google Alerts can be very useful, media monitoring tools such as those provided by PIER can pick up blog traffic and mentions on other websites. There is no one single answer to effective social media monitoring; a variety of social media monitoring tools are available and changing daily.

Use Appropriate Social Media, Appropriately

While Twitter and YouTube can aid in the fast and efficient flow of relevant information, NIMS compliance requires that these forms are subject to the information discipline of the JIC and therefore IC approval. Subjecting use of these tools to the same approval processes as any other information is the best way to ensure compliance. PIER simplifies approvals because Twitter or YouTube become just one more distribution option. If PIER is not used, a PIO or authorized JIC staff can post directly to a Twitter account set up for the JIC using email or through a cell phone text message.

If Twitter, YouTube or other social media outlets are used, it is important to understand their limitations and intent. Twitter, for example, is a text message and typically limited to no more than 140 characters. Twitter is best used for immediate, critical updates, always linking the “followers” back to the JIC website. Similarly, YouTube, Facebook or other websites that may be linked in to the JIC need to direct viewers back to the JIC website. The JIC website needs to be the only authoritative voice for the response. To allow other websites or social media outlets to perform those functions violates the “single voice” intent of the Incident Command System and therefore does not comply with the National Incident Management System.

Additional Information