National Incident Management Organization Social Media How-To Manual for Incidents

DRAFT

3/10/10 Version 1b Disclaimer: This document should not be construed as direction or permission to use social media on Federal wildland fires. It is simply a “primer” on how to use a variety of tools for those who want to build skills. Decisions about social media use are between each individual and their agency.

3/10/10 Version 1b NIMO Social Media How-To

Manual Table of Contents

Listening Tools Blog Search Page 2 Google Reader Page 3 Google News Page 4 Google Alerts Page 6 Addictomatic Page 8 Technorati Page 9 IceRocket Page 10 Twitter Search Page 11 Monitter Page 12 Twitter How to create an account Page 14 Posting a Twitter update Page 16 Twitter-The Lingo Page 17 Twitter-on-the-fly Page 19 Twitter Lists Page 22 Consider a Tweetup Page 26 Twittlonger Page 27 TwitDoc Page 29 Management Tools TweetDeck Page 32 Hootsuite Page 47 Facebook What is a Facebook Page Page 49 Administering a Page Page 51 Some Facebook Best Practices Page 54 Tweeting from your Facebook Page Page 56 Embedding links on Facebook Page 57 Facebook Insights Page 58 Import-Inciweb-Twitter-Feeds Page 60 Photo Management Tools Picasa Page 64 Flickr Page 73 Analytics Tools for Measuring Success Page 78 Videos My Fire Videos How-To Page 80 YouTube Page 81 Blogger Creating an Incident Blog Page 8

3/10/10 Version 1b Listening Tools Google Blog Search

Blog Search is Google search technology focused on blogs.

Your results include all blogs, not just those published through Blogger; our blog index is continually updated, so you'll always get the most accurate and up-to-date results..

How -To

Just type the word(s) you want to search for in the text box and click "Search." That's all there is to it!

1 3/10/10 Version 1b Google Reader http://www.google.com/reader

Keep track of your favorite websites

Stay up to date Google Reader constantly checks your favorite news sites and blogs for new content. Whether a site updates daily or monthly, you can be sure that you won't miss a thing.

Simplify your reading experience Google Reader shows you all of your favorite sites in one convenient place. It's like a personalized inbox for the entire web.

Discover new content Millions of sites publish feeds with their latest updates, and our integrated feed search makes it easy to find new content that interests you.

2 3/10/10 Version 1b Google News

Google News is a computer-generated news site that aggregates headlines from news sources worldwide, groups similar stories together and displays them according to each reader's personalized interests.

RSS Feeds: Available Google News Feeds

Google News section and search results feeds: Most common browsers will display a small RSS icon on the address bar if a site has a feed available. For more information on discovering feeds, please see this page. http://www.google.com/help/reader/feeds.html

You can also get a feed for any search you do on Google News. First perform any search on Google News, and then simply use the RSS icon available on your browser's address bar to generate the feed.

3 3/10/10 Version 1b Google Alerts

Google Alerts are emails automatically sent to you when there are new Google results for your search terms. You can also choose to have your alerts delivered via feed to the feedreader of your choice (e.g., Google Reader or add the feed to your iGoogle page). We currently offer alerts with results from News, Web, Blogs, Video and Groups.

This is a great tool to have news about your incident delivered to you.

Google Alerts currently offers 6 variations of alerts - 'News', 'Web', 'Blogs', 'Comprehensive', 'Video' and 'Groups'.

• A 'News' alert is an email aggregate of the latest news articles that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top ten results of your Google News search. • A 'Web' alert is an email aggregate of the latest web pages that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top twenty results of your Google Web search. • A 'Blogs' alert is an email aggregate of the latest blog posts that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top ten results of your Google Blog search. • A 'Comprehensive' alert is an aggregate of the latest results from multiple sources (News, Web and Blogs) into a single email to provide maximum coverage on the topic of your choice. • A 'Video' alert is an email aggregate of the latest videos that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top ten results of your Google Video search. • A 'Groups' alert is an email aggregate of new posts that contain the search terms of your choice and appear in the top fifty results of your Google Groups search.Google Alerts

4 3/10/10 Version 1b How do I manage them all?

On the 'Manage Your Alerts' page, you can view, create, verify, edit, and remove any alert you wish. To access this page, you'll need to create a Google Account. Doing so requires only your email address and a password. For more information, click the link at the bottom of the Google Alerts home page.

5 3/10/10 Version 1b Addictomatic http://addictomatic.com

Addictomatic searches the best live sites on the web for the latest news, blog posts, videos and images. It's the perfect tool to keep up with the hottest topics, perform ego searches and feed your addiction for what's up, what's now or what other people are feeding on.

Personalize

After you search, you can personalize your results dashboard by moving around the source boxes. When you're done, bookmark the page and keep coming back to your personalized results dashboard for that search.

Browse the News

And like your search results dashboard, you can personalize the layout of the headline boxes, delete ones you don't like and bookmark your personalized page.

6 3/10/10 Version 1b Technorati http://technorati.com

Technorati is a search engine that tracks and aggregates content from blogs as well as photos, videos and other forms of user-generated content.

7 3/10/10 Version 1b IceRocket

There are two ways that people are comparing blog search engines today: total links for a given keyword or tag, and total links shown for a given blog.. IceRocket has a ton of great search and other tools, including search by keywords, tags and URLs.

8 3/10/10 Version 1b Twitter Search http://search.twitter.com/

Twitter search is pretty basic and straightforward and easy to use. You can search for terms, keywords, hashtags you name it!

9 3/10/10 Version 1b Monitter http://www.monitter.com/

It's a twitter monitor, it lets you "monitter" the twitter world for a set of keywords and watch what people are saying.

Just type three words into the three search boxes below (where it says 'monitter' now..) and within seconds you'll start seeing relevant tweets streaming live.

10 3/10/10 Version 1b Incident Twitter Manual

11 3/10/10 Version 1b How to create a Twitter account

The Basics

Navigate to http://twitter.com/ and select the green "Sign up now" button on the right hand of your screen,

or simply navigate to https://twitter.com/signup. This will take you to the main signup page.

The first field you will be asked to fill out is your full name. By using the incident or agency name, you increase your relevancy and familiarity with your followers.

Next, you will be asked to select a username. Try to pick something that describes your incident - whether it's a fire name or an agency. I chose the name 'ABCD Fire' to make sure everyone knows that I'm new to Twitter. This will be the name your followers use when sending @replies, direct messages, or Retweets. It will also form the URL of your home timeline. A preview of that URL is shown below for the username @ABCDFire.

Please note: You can change your username in your account settings at any time, as long as the new username is not in use.

12 3/10/10 Version 1b Usernames must be fewer than 15 characters in length, and cannot contain 'admin' or 'twitter' in order to avoid brand confusion. http://help.twitter.com/forums/10711/entries/14609

Once you have selected an appropriate username, you will be asked to enter a password. Be tricky! Make sure your password contains letters, numbers, and symbols. Please do not use a password based on a word found in the dictionary.

Once you have entered a sufficiently strong password, please provide an email address. We use this to confirm your account before you can finish the signup process. Note: Be sure to use the Gmail email address that you had setup for the incident.

The next step is to prove that you're a human (not a machine!) by typing in the words shown in the Captcha before hitting the "Create my account" button. Please note: if you are having difficulty reading the words, you may request a new captcha, or you can select an audio captcha.

13 3/10/10 Version 1b Posting a Twitter update, or "tweet" from Twitter.com

Some people call them tweets

Twitter always asks the question, "What's happening?" Each answer to that question is considered a Twitter status update, or what people often call a "tweet." Each update is 140 characters or less. Once you've signed up, just type your first tweet in the update box. Click the update button to post the tweet to your profile. Remember to leave 20 Characters so your message can be re-tweeted by your audience. Don’t worry, there’s a character counter that will help you.

Another way (some say the best way!) to post updates is from your cell phone. Most exciting things happen while we're away from our computers. Set up your phone and send Twitter a text message, or if your phone has a web browser, use the special version of our site that's made for mobile web browsers, m.twitter.com. Most Smartphone’s have special applications to manage your tweets.

How to post your first tweet

If you've started your account from the web, just log in and type something, and you're done!

1. Go to http://twitter.com and log in 2. Type your update into the "What are you doing" box 3. Click the update button

Your tweet will post to your profile page and you should see it in your timeline.

14 3/10/10 Version 1b The Twitter Lingo

Twitter has it’s own lexicon of sorts. Here are a few terms you need to know.

@ replies: This symbol precedes people’s “handles” or screen names on Twitter when a tweet is directed at them. Want to reply to someone’s comment? Start your tweet with @ so they’ll know your reply is meant for them. You can track your own replies in the “@ Replies” tab on your Twitter page, or many of the Twitter clients will do so automatically for you.

RT: Stands for “retweet” and means that the tweet is being reposted from someone else. If I retweet something of yours, that means I’m passing it along for others in my network to see. When you see a tweet that starts with these letters, it means that the person is passing along something that someone else wrote. Many of the third party applications have a one-click button to retweet a post. (See retweeting and situational awareness in the NIMO Guidelines)

Hashtags #: You may often see tweets that end with a hashtag, or a pound sign followed by a term, such as #ABCFire. The purpose is to keep track of tweets that are all part of a single subject, event, or topic. If you head to Twitter Search and type in the full hashtag, you can track all the tweets related to that term. You don’t need to do anything special to use a hashtag, just make one up and tell folks to use it if you want them to tag their tweets for your event or discussion.

link shorteners: Twitter’s 140 character limitation makes posting big links impossible. So you’ll see shortened urls from services like TinyURL, Bit.ly, is.gd among others. They take a long URL and condense it down to a short version. Again, clients like TweetDeck and Hootsuite have this built in, but you can use the web versions as well, many of which have a bookmark button you can use in your browser.

15 3/10/10 Version 1b DM: This stands for Direct Message and is Twitter’s version of a private message. If you DM someone, you send the message directly to them and no one else can see it. To send one, type the letter D and a space followed by the person’s Twitter name (or use the Direct Messages tab on your profile page). The recipient of the DM needs to be following you for the message to go through.

Following: It’s recommended that you follow your audience to encourage dialog. Use your discretion when following certain people or organizations that have questionable profiles.

Favorites: If you “favorite” a tweet, it’s like your bookmarking it for yourself. You can see your favorites on a separate tab on your profile, and others can see them too. Favorites can be seen by everyone and is a great way to showcase some of your best responses.

16 3/10/10 Version 1b Twitter: Sign Up on the Fly

This is an important tool if your on a dynamic incident with evacuations or other impacts like smoke etc. You can advertise that wireless users can get text messages on their phone from the incident Twitter feed.

Add your phone from...your phone! Did you know: you can send tweets by text? Adding your phone to Twitter makes it easy to tweet from places where even wifi and mobile web don't work! Send a text to 40404 with the word START -- it's easy—Twitter will ask you to sign up if you're new, or reply with your user name if you have an account.

If you have an account, just reply with your user name. You will be asked to verify your password, and if it's correct, Twitter will post your first tweet and let you know! (If you don't get a confirmation text right away, just check your profile page to see if your tweet showed up.)

If you don't have an account, just reply with SIGN UP. You will be asked to choose a

user name, and once they receive it, will ask for your first tweet! When you send your tweet, Twitter will post it to your profile, which you can claim anytime by entering your phone number on Twitter.com.

Now followers can send a text with the words FOLLOW ABCDFire (your twitter name) Note: Standard text messaging rates apply.

17 3/10/10 Version 1b SMS Twitter Commands

Did you know: you can perform certain actions, like following or marking a friend's update as a favorite, by using the designated Twitter commands? Use the commands listed below from your phone, the web update box, or your favorite third party application.

Please note : When using these commands make sure that you do not append an @ along with it.

For example, if you want to turn on device notifications send only ON and not @ON.

Similarly, if you want to stop getting updates from Twitter send STOP and not @STOP.

If you send these commands with an @, it will be considered as an username and will not be executed as expected!

Turning Twitter off and on: device notifications

• ON: turns ALL phone notifications on. • OFF, STOP, QUIT, End, Cancel, Arret or Unsubscribe: turns ALL phone notifications off. • ON username: turns on notifications for a specific person on your phone. For example, ON phxfire. • OFF username: turns off notifications for a specific person on your phone. For example, OFF femainfocus. • FOLLOW username: this command allows you to start following a specific user, as well as receive SMS notifications. Example: follow angelesnf • LEAVE username: this command allows you to stop following (Un-Follow) a specific user, as well as stop receiving SMS notifications. Example: leave CalFireNews

There's more to Twitter than OFF and ON! Use the commands below to send private messages, mark updates as favorites, or even remind someone to update their Twitter page if you're wondering what they're doing!

• @username + message directs a twitter at another person, and causes your twitter to save in their "replies" tab. Example: @meangrape I love that song too! • RT username Retweet's a users latest Tweet

18 3/10/10 Version 1b • D username + message sends a person a private message that goes to their device, and saves in their web archive. Example: d krissy want to pick a Jamba Juice for me while you're there? • FAV username marks a person's last twitter as a favorite and causes the message to show up in your "Favorites" tab. • SET LOCATION placename updates the location field in your profile Example: set location san Francisco • WHOIS username retrieves the profile information for any public user on Twitter. Example: whois jack • GET username retrieves the latest Twitter update posted by the person. Example: get goldman • FAV username marks a person's last twitter as a favorite. (hint: reply to any update with FAV to mark it as a favorite if you're receiving it in real time) Example: fav al3x • STATS this command returns your number of followers, how many people you're following, and your bio information. • INVITE phone number will send an SMS invite to a friend's mobile phone. Example: Invite 415 555 1212

Noteworthy Facts

• using on/off username from your phone only stops notifications to the place the command comes from; you'll still collect a person's updates on the web. • using follow/leave username from your phone is the same as using on/off username. • following someone from a phone for the first time will also cause you to follow them on the web. • there is no way to stop following a person on the web without visiting their profile and removing them. The off, leave, stop, and quit commands will only disable updates for the device(s) from which they were sent. • you don't have to use on/off username from the phone, you can also set individual notifications from a person's profile page, or check your following page and manage all phone notification settings there.

Source: Twitter.com

19 3/10/10 Version 1b Twitter Lists

Twitter users can now organize users they follow (or users that they don’t) into groups, or “lists”. This article will help you get started with some lists basics and hopefully get you ready to make your own!

Before we get started, it should be noted that following a user is not a requirement to add someone to a list; if you want to add a user but not necessarily regularly follow them, lists allow you to do that. Creating a list

There are a few ways to create a new list, the easiest way is by clicking “New list” on the twitter sidebar. Clicking on this link will pop up a box, as shown above. Here you can name your list. You can also make the list public (everyone can see it) or private (only you can see it). Current limits are:

• 20 lists per account • List names cannot begin with a numerical character

20 3/10/10 Version 1b Add People to a list

You can add users (including yourself!) from most places on Twitter where profiles are listed. This includes the following:

• “Find people” searches. • Profile pages (including your own). • Yours and other user’s followers and following lists.

Just keep an eye out for the “lists” button next to any profile:

You can remove users from a list in the same fashion as you added them; just uncheck the box.

Checking out your Lists stats

On your Twitter home page, clicking on the “listed” number (which is next to your “followers” number) will bring up the following page:

The first tab you will see displays the lists that currently list you as a member. The first column of numbers represent the number of members of this list. The second column displays the number of subscribers to that particular list.

The second tab lists any lists you may have created with the same information listed in the first tab.

21 3/10/10 Version 1b The Lists page

Now that you’ve created a list, you can visit the list page, as shown above. Here, you can perform lists maintenance, such as editing the list name (in blue) and deleting the list in its entirety (in red).

Note: Renaming a list will break any links you've posted to that list.

22 3/10/10 Version 1b Subscribing/Following Lists

Following a list is as simple as following any other Twitter user. Simply navigate to the list page and click on “Follow”, underneath the name of the list. You can quickly view your subscribed lists, as well as your own, on the sidebar.

You can also consequently remove yourself from a list by blocking the creator of the list.

Note: If the owner of a list that you're following includes a public user that you've blocked, you will still see the updates of the blocked user. This behavior is similar to visiting the profile page of a public user that you've blocked: you're still able to read their tweets. Mentioning Lists

You can @mention any Twitter List as you would any Twitter user, just add a forward slash “/” followed by the list name to list owners username:

@/

Currently lists links will only appear on the Twitter web application, but will see more usage in third party applications as they are updated to recognize them.

Source: Twitter.com

23 3/10/10 Version 1b Consider a Tweetup

Definition: A tweetup is an event where people who tweet come together to meet in person.

Normally we connect with our friends online after we have met them. At a tweetup you meet the people you might only otherwise know virtually. Like finally putting a name to a face, a tweetup is a great opportunity to really connect with the people in your network and share just a little more than 140 characters at a time.

This is an excellent opportunity to garner support for your incident. These folks can do more to get your messages out than you can imagine. They will show up with their iPhones and Blackberries and will tweet the meeting for you with photos and generate buzz.

It is really important to acknowledge this group and engage them at the meeting. You may want to host a tweetup at the Incident Command Post.

Services such as Twtvite.com can help you organize your event. “Twtvite http://twtvite.com/ is an event manager tool that helps you organize Tweetups and make meaningful connections through social media.”

24 3/10/10 Version 1b Twitlonger http://www.twitlonger.com/

Twitlonger is a way to let you post to Twitter when 140 characters just aren’t enough. With Twitlonger, you can write what you need and a link to what you said will automatically be posted to your Twitter account. It's like twitpic for text.

How To:

1. Click on the above button “Sign in with Twitter”

25 3/10/10 Version 1b 2. Sign in with your Twitter account name and password.

3. Just paste in your content and click on “post”.

Note: the first 120 characters will be tweeted with a link to the rest of the message.

26 3/10/10 Version 1b TwitDoc http://twitdoc.com

This is a great way to send out a news release or any other kind of documents via twitter and you can embed the link into Facebook by pasting it into the “Status Update” link field.

Supported media / file types for upload: Documents: Files up to 15 MB. Word (doc, docx), PowerPoint (ppt, pptx, pps), Excel (xls, xlsx), PDF, PS, Open Office (odt, odp, sxw, sxl), and text (txt, rtf). Graphics / Photos: Files up to 10 MB. File extensions are jpg, png, and gif. Videos: (Not Reccomended) Files up to 25 MB. File extensions are avi, mov, qt, mpg, mpeg, mp4, m4v, wmv, and flv. These are supported on an experimental basis. Please be aware that there may be substantial processing times before an uploaded video becomes visible.

27 3/10/10 Version 1b

How? Upload your file, put your text into the form and TweetDoc will shorten the URL, and post a tweet in one step. No sign up needed. Use your existing Twitter account in the form or download the free Adobe AIR desktop client which enables you to drag and drop your files into your tweets. http://twitdoc.com/desktop

Once your document is tweeted you can send the link in an email and or paste it into Facebook to share with your audience.

28 3/10/10 Version 1b

Management Tools

29 3/10/10 Version 1b

Management Tools – TweetDeck

TweetDeck is the leading browser for the real-time and social web, allowing users to connect with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace.

TweetDeck shows you everything you want to see at once, so you can stay organized and up-to-date.

TweetDeck is an Adobe Air desktop application, currently in public beta that looks to capture the abundance of social media and display it in a unique columned user interface. Many agencies do not support Adobe Air so you may want use HootSuite since it is web based.

TweetDeck is a real-time application that allows users to monitor that information in a single concise view. TweetDeck currently integrates services from Twitter, Twitscoop, 12seconds, Stocktwits and now Facebook and MySpace.

But at the heart of TweetDeck is its ability to group people together and search across the twittersphere. Grouping friends or work colleagues separately means you have a window on all aspects of your twitter life. Searching across the twittersphere means you can monitor any subject within Twitter. These additional columns automatically update so providing the user with a very effective dashboard of realtime information.

30 3/10/10 Version 1b

Retweet Twitter style - or your style - its up to you!

Perform both new-Twitter and traditional retweets with ease. All retweets are now visible in your TweetDeck columns, and if it was sent using the Twitter method, you can easily see from the avatar the person who retweeted, and the original sender.

Manage your conversations

TweetDeck makes it easy to follow your conversations, easily reply or direct message people right from their tweets. See exactly what your friends are twittering on about and join the conversation in just a few clicks.

Watch & Record Video

Watch video clips from 12seconds and Qik without leaving TweetDeck.

Record short videos directly from TweetDeck with 12seconds and then share them on Twitter and Facebook in just a few clicks.

You can also watch YouTube videos within TweetDeck too.

Manage multiple Twitter accounts easily

Manage all your Twitter accounts from TweetDeck without switching between them.

View all of the information you need from all of your account at once. And cross- post tweets to different accounts at the touch of a button.

Add, create and modify Twitter Lists

Follow, create and manage both public and private Twitter Lists from within TweetDeck. Export your old TweetDeck Groups to Twitter Lists and add columns to monitor your favorite Lists using a slick new interface.

There are now thousands of great Lists you can subscribe to, so we'll also help you find the ones suited to you, and give you the tools to make your List that little bit better. Explain list

31 3/10/10 Version 1b

Stay updated with Real-Time Search

Create search columns which auto update every time someone in the Twitterverse mentions the search term.

You can create search columns for anything you want to stay informed about: you, your brand, your competitors’ brands, hashtags you’re interested in or anything you’re passionate about.

And now you can edit your search terms directly from the column. So you could have a column just dedicated to quick searches. This is handy if you want to monitor keywords surrounding your incident and monitoring what individuals are saying.

Preview short URLs - This is a MUST!

See what your friends are tweeting about without leaving TweetDeck.

With preview you can view information about links directly from TweetDeck and see where you’re going before you go there. When you click on a short link you really don’t know where your going to be taken to. With this preview you can see where the link will take you and how many people have clicked on it.

Avatar Hover-Over

You can hover-over an avatar and up comes a series of options like Retweet, Direct Message, Reply & host of other options.

.

32 3/10/10 Version 1b

See who's following you

Do you find that your Twitter followers change daily? For an instant check, you can add a special separate 'New Followers' column in TweetDeck. And, of course, there are options to follow them too if you choose.

Click on the New Followers icon in the Twitter menu, to load this into your TweetDeck.

Take TweetDeck with you, wherever you go

Take all your TweetDeck favorites, including columns, groups and saved searches, everywhere you go. Sync your TweetDeck columns across multiple computers and your iPhone only.

Back-up and safely store all your TweetDeck information, and never worry about accidentally deleting a group again.

So, you can install TweetDeck on an incident or any other computer and get all of your customized settings.

33 3/10/10 Version 1b TweetDeck Basics

How to add another account to TweetDeck

You can add multiple Twitter accounts, as well as a single Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn account to TweetDeck.

To add any of these accounts, just go to Settings > Accounts and click Add New Account

You will then have the option of adding a Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or LinkedIn account.

Click the appropriate button and follow the instructions to log in to your account.

You can also access this screen from the Update Window and the Add Column screen by clicking the [+] icon .

34 3/10/10 Version 1b How can I update my Facebook "Page" from TweetDeck

To update a Facebook Page, as opposed to your personal profile, from TweetDeck, just add your Facebook account as normal.

Once added, on the Settings > Accounts page, you can select which of the Pages that you administer you would like to see a button for in TweetDeck.

To add any Pages that you administer but are NOT shown in the list, click Add Pages to authorize TweetDeck to use them.

Any Pages that you select on the Settings screen will then be available as buttons above the update window.

If you enable a Facebook page button and send an update, that update will be added to the Wall on the relevant Page.

35 3/10/10 Version 1b Add or remove a column in TweetDeck

To remove a column, simply hover over the top-right corner of the column header and click the X that appears there.

To add a column to TweetDeck click the Add Column button

From the Add Column screen that appears, you must first select the service (Twitter, Facebook, Myspace or LinkedIn)

If the case of Twitter columns, you must also select the specific Twitter account to use from the dropdown on the right-hand side

Having selected the service and account, you can now select the type of column you wish to add.

Depending on the service selected, there are various different column types available to add.

36 3/10/10 Version 1b Sync TweetDeck between different computers

Synchronizing to a TweetDeck account is a great way to backup your groups and searches, and also means that these items will be available to you on the TweetDeck iPhone app and other TweetDeck desktop installations. Your TweetDeck account is also used to allow you to log in to the TweetDeck Support site, to enable you to comment in our forums and raise support tickets. Please note that Twitter Lists are not synchronized to your TweetDeck Account, as these are stored in the Twitter database and not on our servers. All you need to sync your TweetDeck groups and searches is a TweetDeck Account.

Sign in or Register for an account by clicking Settings icon and going to the Sync tab.

To sign in to your TweetDeck account Enter your TweetDeck account email and password, then click Verify Account If everything worked OK, you will see a message saying "Account verified successfully!". Click Save Settings and TweetDeck will automatically start to synchronise your Groups and Searches.

37 3/10/10 Version 1b To create a new TweetDeck account

Click on the Don't have a TweetDeck Account link to show the account registration form

Enter an email address and password, then click Create Account. If everything worked OK you will see a message saying "Account created successfully!". TweetDeck will now automatically start to synchronise your Groups and Searches. Click Save Settings and TweetDeck will automatically start to synchronize your Groups and Searches.

Rate Limit Exceeded

If you use up all your API calls within an hour, you will see the message "Rate limit exceeded" in the bottom right-hand corner of TweetDeck and will be unable to make any more calls until your API allowance is reset for the next hour.

For more details, please see this FAQ.

To ensure you do not exceed your API limit, we highly recommend allowing TweetDeck to manage your API usage, as described in this FAQ.

38 3/10/10 Version 1b How do I manage my Twitter API usage?

TweetDeck offers you options for managing your API usage.

This option is the default for all new users and should not be changed unless you are an advanced TweetDeck user.

By selecting the option to Allow TweetDeck To manage my Twitter API limit, you will allow TweetDeck to monitor your API usage and adjust the rate at which you are using it accordingly. This should mean that you are far less likely to run out of API calls as TweetDeck will adjust refresh rates dynamically. This will lead to a balanced use of your API and should make for a better experience using TweetDeck. Essentially, every time TweetDeck makes a call to the API it checks what your remaining limit is. Using this information, combined with the time remaining before the next reset, TweetDeck adjusts your refresh rates automatically to ensure you will not run out. Depending on your API usage so far in this current hour, TweetDeck will intelligently speed up or slow down your update rates to compensate, thus ensuring you never see the dreaded "Rate Limit Exceeded" message. Using this option is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

How does search work in TweetDeck?

TweetDeck allows you to set up search columns so you can stay up to date with topics or brands you’re interested in.

Search columns auto-update every minute using data from the Twitter Search API.

39 3/10/10 Version 1b To create a search column:

• Click the Add Column button or press the / key • Ensure you have clicked the Twitter icon and selected your Twitter account from the dropdown • You will then be prompted to enter a keyword you want to search for.

Your search column will start by displaying the most recent 100 tweets (a Twitter API limit) containing your keyword. It will refresh every minute, adding any new tweets found and displaying a notification.

Stopping a search

To stop a search you need to delete the column in TweetDeck. Columns can be deleted by clicking the X in the top-right corner of the search column.

If you also want to remove the search from your TweetDeck account and delete it from the server, check "Permanently delete search from server" before clicking Submit.

Advanced Searching

If you wish to search on more than one keyword you can use the following parameters:

• AND will search for both search terms (or more if used). • OR will for either one or the other search term (or terms). • Use ‘quotes’ to search for a specific search phrase.

Note: When using AND or OR they must be used in CAPS.

A full list of advanced search operators is available at http://search.twitter.com/operators. All the search operators shown there should work in TweetDeck, apart from the ‘near’ and ‘within’ operators, which will not work in a TweetDeck search.

40 3/10/10 Version 1b How can I update my Facebook "Fan Page" from TweetDeck

To update a Facebook Page, as opposed to your personal profile, from TweetDeck, just add your Facebook account as normal.

Once added, on the Settings > Accounts page, you can select which of the Pages that you administer you would like to see a button for in TweetDeck.

To add any Pages that you administer but are NOT shown in the list, click Add Pages to authorise TweetDeck to use them.

Any Pages that you select on the Settings screen will then be available as buttons above the update window.

If you enable a Facebook page button and send an update, that update will be added to the Wall on the relevant Page.

41 3/10/10 Version 1b How do I configure the notification window in TweetDeck?

You can configure the notifications that you receive from TweetDeck under Settings > Notifications.

Under Notification windows you can define the kind of information that TweetDeck will display when new updates arrive in a column

• Detail will show the actual update in its entirety within a popup window • Summary will display the total number of new updates for each column

Toggle each type of window on and off by clicking the image for each type.

Under Notification window position you can define where on the screen the notification popup will be displayed. Just click on of the four squares which relate to the top-left, top-right, bottom-left and bottom-right corners of the screen.

Under Notification sound you can use the slider to adjust the volume of the notification sound that is played when an update is received. To turn off the notification sound, set the slider to 0%.

42 3/10/10 Version 1b How can I shorten URLs in TweetDeck?

If you have "Auto-shorten URLs" enabled in the update window, then TweetDeck will automatically shorten any URLs that you type or paste into the update box.

If you turn auto-shorten off and enter a URL that you later want to shorten, just enable Auto Shorten URLs then cut & paste the link back into the update box again

By default Bit.ly is used to shorten URLs. To change the URL shortening service used go to Settings > Services and choose from the drop-down list available.

To ensure your bit.ly URLs get associated with your own account, don't forget to provide your API key under Settings > Services

What does the TweetShrink button do?

The TweetShrink button in TweetDeck will take your long message and shorten it so it fits into a 140-character tweet.

Simply type your tweet and click the TweetShrink button. This will shrink your tweet, using abbreviations and shortcuts, so that it fits into a standard tweet.

It’s best to check the tweet before you send it to make sure that you’re happy with the automatic shrinking.

43 3/10/10 Version 1b To create a new Twitter List via TweetDeck:

• Click the Add Column button • Click the Twitter icon, then select the Twitter account under which you wish to create the List • Click Groups/Lists • Click New List • Enter a Title for your List and an optional Description • Select whether this list will be Private (only visible to the Twitter account selected above) or Public (visible to everyone) • Click Add list members

Your list is now saved.

Add members to your List by dragging and dropping from "Find people to add" to "List Members", or click an entry and click the arrows to move them in and out of the "List members" box:

• To add members from your list of Twitter friends, click the Friends tab • To add members from an existing list that you own or follow, click the Lists tab and select the list from the drop-down menu • To add members from an existing TweetDeck group, click the Groups tab and select the group from the drop-down menu • To add members by using Twitter People Search, click the Search tab, enter a username, first name or last name then click search Once you have added your list members, click Save List. Your list members will then be added to the list. Note: The Twitter API forces us to add list members one at a time, so if you have a large number of users to add, this may take some time.

If you want to publicize the new list at this point, you can click Send Tweet to send a tweet out saying "I have just created a new list titled 'name of list' using TweetDeck". If the list is public, a link to view the list is also included. Sending this tweet will not interrupt the creation of your List.

44 3/10/10 Version 1b Management Tools – HootSuite

Streams

Streams is the default dashboard view. Here you can send messages, create columns and tabs, and monitor status updates from other people. You can also post pictures, documents, MP3s, and various files. Post messages immediately, schedule them, or save them as a draft. You can pick and choose which accounts your messages go out on.

HootSuite is flexible and customizable. You can drag and drop columns, adjust their width, or delete them. HootSuite also supports tabs for better column organization.

Another great feature of Streams is the ability to save search columns, and modify your search at a later time. When you click your mouse inside the Search box, a list of trending topics will pop up -- and if you want an explanation for why their trending, you can click the question mark beside it.

45 3/10/10 Version 1b How to Add Editors with Administrator Accounts

This is an awesome feature! Especially when you delegate a one or more individuals to Tweet on behalf of your agency or existing feed.

Go to "Settings", click the "Social Networks" tab, and on the relevant accounts click "Editors". A window will then pop up that says on the top "Manage Editors". Then, choose which Editors you grant posting privileges to by clicking the checkbox beside their name.

Hoot Suite Pros & Cons

Pros • Since HootSuite is web based you can use it on any connected computer. • Works as a good backup to Tweetdeck • Tabs to manage individual accounts • Schedule tweets • Stat tracking of clicks on any links you tweet with Hoot Suite • Support for Ping.fm • Connect your RSS feed to your Hoot Suite account • Easily view scheduled tweets • Managing multiple accounts is as simple as one click • Retweet function still allows for additional text to be entered • Easily track conversations so you never lose track of what you were tweeting about • Track featured Tweeps (people you follow on twitter) • Following and Unfollowing on Twitter is simple

Cons

• Since it is a web based platform it performs poorly on slow internet connections. • Minor functional deficiencies, Only one URL shortener supported (it’s own)

46 3/10/10 Version 1b What is a Facebook “Fan” Page? Pages are for incidents to broadcast great information to fans in an official, public manner. Like profiles, they can be enhanced with applications that help the entity communicate with and engage their fans, and capture new audiences virally through their fans' recommendations to their friends.

You can create and manage a Facebook Page for your organization from your personal account. You can create a Page by searching “create fan page”. Please note that only the official representative of an incident is permitted to create a Page.

How are Pages different from groups? Pages can only be created to represent a real organization, business, celebrity, or band, and may only be created by an official representative of that entity. Groups can be created by any user and about any topic, as a space for users to share their opinions and interest in that subject. Groups can be kept closed or secret, whereas Pages are intended to help an entity communicate publicly. Closed groups are a great way to keep your stakeholders engaged before, during and after an incident.

47 3/10/10 Version 1b

Fan Pages also allow people to maintain a personal-professional distinction on Facebook. If you're a group administrator, your name will appear on that group, while Fan Pages will never display their administrator’s names. Additionally, when you take actions on your group, such as posting on your group's wall, these actions will appear to come from you as an individual. However, if you post or take other actions on a Fan Page you own, it will appear to come from the Fan Page.

How are Pages different from personal profiles? Profiles represent individuals and must be held under an individual name, while Fan Pages allow an organization, or Incident to maintain a professional presence on Facebook. You may only create Facebook Fan Pages to represent real organizations of which you are an authorized representative. Fans of your Fan Page won't be able to see that you are the Fan Page administrator or have any access to your personal account.

I don’t have a Facebook account. Can I still create a Fan Page?

Yes, you can create a business account. To create a business account, follow the steps below: Create a Facebook Page by clicking http://www.facebook.com/pages/ After entering the required information, you will be prompted to log in to an existing Facebook account or create a new one. If you do not currently have a Facebook account, please select "I do not have a Facebook account." Enter your email address and date of birth.

48 3/10/10 Version 1b Administering a Page

How do I add other Page Admins? To appoint other users as Page Admins, take the following steps: 1. Select the "Edit Page" option when you are viewing the Page you currently administer. 2. Scroll down to the list of current admins on the bottom right column and click "Add." 3. Choose the names of any people from your Friend List that you would like to add as Admins. If the individual you wish to invite to admin your Page is not presently a member of Facebook, simply type their email address in the "Add Admins via Email" field. They can then register for the site and will be able to accept the admin request as soon as they join Facebook. 4. Click the "Add Admins" button. The friends you select will be able to help you manage your Page. Every Admin can manage the Page from their own Facebook account using the Page Manager application.

49 3/10/10 Version 1b How do I update my fans?

Page Administrators can update their fans about new Page content, incident updates, public meetings, events and more. Pages can send messages to either their entire fan base or target their update to fans in a specific demographic. The messages Pages send their fans will appear in the "Updates" tab of a user’s Inbox. http://www.facebook.com/ help/?faq=15200

50 3/10/10 Version 1b Facebook “Fan” Page – Settings Some settings you need to know about.

Wall Settings Fan Permissions: Depending on your incident you may want to restrict fans from commenting or posting pix on your wall.

Personally I would un-check the “Fans can post links” box. This can just be trouble especially on controversial incidents.

51 3/10/10 Version 1b Some Facebook Best Practices

With Facebook’s recent re-design comes many new opportunities to use the network’s pages application. For those not familiar, Facebook pages are generally used to promote your incident.

These changes create new opportunities to interact with constituents. If a Facebook page is setup properly, your audience will be able to “become a part of the conversation.” It also has the potential to drive extra traffic to Web sites and blogs.

But the new pages are also more demanding. In order to make your page successful, it will need a lot of “babysitting.” This can create a problem for agencies that do not have the time, money and resources to monitor Facebook. Structural issues exist too: out of security and productivity concerns, many agencies block social networking sites like Facebook. Issues aside, let’s look at some best practices!

Make your status updates human. Remember, people are reading these interspersed with the updates from family and friends. You don’t want to stand with robotic sounding or boring updates. Treat it like you would treat a tweet; the Facebook stream is very similar to the Twitter timeline. Remember that social media is interactive and that means dialog with your audience.

Give your audience a reason to visit your page. Post photos, maps and videos that are exclusive to Facebook. Encourage conversation by soliciting questions. A successful Facebook page is much more than an extension of your Inciweb or web site. For many, your Facebook page has the potential to be their portal to your agency. Treat it that way!

52 3/10/10 Version 1b

Don’t overload it though! Being bombarded with information is bad. Clutter is bad. Not being able to keep up is bad. Therefore, limit your new content to a handful of items/status updates per day. Once again, remember that people do see this in their streams. If they’re annoyed by constantly seeing items from your page, they’ll un-fan you. Obviously, that’s not what you want to happen... Keep your audience demographics in mind when adding content (which is readily available to all page admins) to avoid excess clutter.

Send your users to the wall first. Your wall is the hub of activity on the page. Facebook gives you the option to specify which “tab” users go to when they first click your page. Involving as many people in the discussions and exposing them to the freshest content at the earliest possible opportunity is definitely a plus.

Integrating Inciweb via RSS. When on a fire where you have an Inciweb page running, you can integrate the RSS feed into the notes section. So when you update Inciweb the Facebook wall will shortly update automatically.

53 3/10/10 Version 1b Tweeting from your Facebook “Fan” Page

You can setup your page to send a Tweet when you update your page. This is handy in some cases but not recommend due to span of control issues (just another thing to remember).

If you do decide to use this feature, you may want to look at the settings. For instance, if you have the Photos box checked, every photo you upload will be tweeted. This can be very annoying to your followers. http://facebook.com/twitter

54 3/10/10 Version 1b Embedding links on Facebook When you want to link to another website in Facebook just click on the “Attach : Link” button.

Paste your link into the text box and click on “Attach”

A series of image thumbnails of the referring site will show up that you can scroll thru to select the one you would like.

You can also select and change or delete the text next to the image.

If needed you can put text into the main text box as well.

55 3/10/10 Version 1b Facebook “Fan” Page – Analytics “Insights”

Admins of authentic Pages can now see data on the performance of each of their posts. Each post now displays (to admins only) how many impressions the post has received (how many times it has been displayed to all users) and its feedback percentage, which is based on how many comments and Likes have been left on the post. This will allow Page admins to see which content better engages their fans. http://www.facebook.com/help/?page=1030

56 3/10/10 Version 1b

57 3/10/10 Version 1b Import Inciweb RSS Feed to Facebook:

1. On the Notes page, click the Import a blog link on the right side of the page. http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/editnotes.php?import 2. Enter the URL (web address) of your blog into the text box, and check the box underneath that states that you agree to our Terms of Use. 3. To complete the process, click on "Save Settings." Once you do this, your previous posts will appear as notes and any new posts you make will automatically display.

Click on the Inciweb Article RSS Feed and copy the feed address http://www.inciweb.org/feeds/rss/articles/incident/1712/ and paste it into the “Import a Blog” URL field.

Now Inciweb will populate the Facebook Page automatically.

58 3/10/10 Version 1b Import Twitter RSS Feed to Facebook:

1. On the Notes page, click the Import a blog link on the right side of the page. http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/editnotes.php?import 2. Enter the URL (web address) of your blog into the text box, and check the box underneath that states that you agree to our Terms of Use. 3. To complete the process, click on "Save Settings." Once you do this, your previous posts will appear as notes and any new posts you make will automatically display.

Click on the Article RSS Feed and copy the feed address http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/60677486.rss and paste it into the “Import a Blog” URL field.

Now your Tweets will populate the Facebook Page automatically.

59 3/10/10 Version 1b Photo Management Tools This photo pile was created from Picasa

60 3/10/10 Version 1b It happens at every incident, we have folders and folders of photos. And at the end of the incident people always want a CD/DVD of all of the photos. Hopefully now you can point them to a website instead of being a CD/DVD duplication service.

Here are two tools available, Flickr and Picasa. Both have value to any incident or event.

Recommendation: Please setup your own personal accounts and give them a test drive.

Picasa VS Flickr by David K. Israel

Picasa is Google’s photo sharing site, enabling you to upload and share photos like Snapfish or Ophoto, etc. You can also buy prints through a third party (like Snapfish). The great thing about Picasa: it’s a software app too, that sits on your desktop and organizes all your photos much the way iPhoto does. (The advantage to Picasa since its Google based, you should already have a gmail account for your incident.)

The moment you run it for the first time, it automatically combs through your entire HD and finds all the images, allowing you to not only see them and locate/organize them, BUT, edit them. (DON’T WORRY it’s not reorganizing your photos like iTunes takes your music and moves it to a special folder.)

Then, once you get all your photos looking the way you want them, Picasa lets you sync them up with your account online, so others can see them. You can even upload videos (though, for my money, they look pretty dull, which is strange since Google has all that video technology on its side already).

Flickr is Yahoo’s photo sharing site, and it, too, has an application you can download to help upload large batches. It doesn’t, however, let you edit the photos on your desktop. So you’ll still need Photoshop or iPhoto (unless you get the free Picasa to Flickr plugin). BUT, if you’re a die-hard iPhoto user, you have the option to purchase a plug-in that allows you to upload to Flickr directly from iPhoto.

The videos on Flickr look A LOT better to me than they do on Picasa. But here’s the catch (isn’t there always a catch?) you only get TWO videos a month, unless you want to shell out $25 a year for a pro account. But with the pro account, you can upload HD video (whoo hoo!).

61 3/10/10 Version 1b A personal note: I was shown Picasa by a NY Times Photographer on a fire a few years ago. He said that “it does all of the basic stuff that Photoshop does but very quickly in one easy package.” And it’s true! The simple “Basic Fixes” buttons will take out smokey haze from photos from on the fireline and a lot more. And the great thing is it’s FREE with up to 1 gigabytes of space with your Google account!! It’s pretty intuitive and “PHD” (push here dummy).

Sign up for Picasa Web Albums

Looking for a simple way to get photos from your camera and computer on the web? Picasa Web Albums provides 1 GB of free storage that makes sharing your photos quick and easy. To start using Picasa Web Albums, just sign in with your Google Account at http://picasaweb.google.com. (If you use Gmail, you already have an account.)

Note: After you've created your account, get started by setting your Picasa Web Albums nickname and profile photo. It's a good way to introduce yourself to the people that view your photos: this information will display on your public gallery, in each of your albums, and next to comments that you leave.

Upload photos to Picasa Web Albums

No matter where your photos are located -- Mac, PC, mobile, iPhoto, etc. -- you can easily upload them into Picasa Web Albums. Upload photos from Picasa or directly on Picasa Web Albums:

• Upload from the Picasa software Use the Upload button to upload all selected photos to Picasa Web Albums. Don't feel like picking through your photos? The Share button uploads an entire folder or album, and allows you to send email invitations to you’re your gmail contact list. This can be convenient way to announce that new photos have been added to your album. • Upload on Picasa Web Albums Click the Upload button at http://picasaweb.google.com to upload photos from your hard drive to the web. Any browser will work, but use Internet Explorer for larger uploads (greater than five photos).

You can also adjust album visibility settings to make your albums as public or as private as you'd like. Here are the different levels:

62 3/10/10 Version 1b • Public Public truly means public: your album is searchable and visible to anyone who visits your public gallery. Anybody can leave a comment on a photo within the album. When you upload new photos to the album, automatic updates are sent to all of your Picasa Web Albums Fans. You can spread the word to media and your audience to become a fan on Picasa to be notified of newly posted photos. http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=143911 • Unlisted choosing the 'Unlisted' option is a good way to protect your album from the public at large. Unlisted albums have an authorization key in their web addresses; the key is a combination of letters and numbers that make the album's web address very difficult to guess. People will need the exact web address in order to see your unlisted album. http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=48446 • Sign-in required to view Select the 'Sign-in required to view' option to set the highest level of privacy for your album -- you specify who has permission to view it, and visitors must sign in to their Google Account to verify their identity. Learn more about adding and removing people from your 'Shared With' list. http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=39501

Picasa the Program

Two things to know

The Picasa software provides a simple way to view, edit, and organize the photos on your computer. As you get started, there are two things you should always remember:

• Picasa does not store the photos on your computer. When you open Picasa, it simply looks at the folders on your computer and displays the photos it finds. It displays the file types that you tell it to find, in the folders that you tell it to search. • Your original photos are always preserved. When using editing tools in Picasa, your original files are never touched. The photo edits you make are only viewable in Picasa until you decide to save your changes. Even then, Picasa creates a new version of the photo with your edits applied, leaving the original file totally preserved.

Picasa provides a range of one-click fixes to help you improve almost any photo, adjust its color and lighting, and add effects like black and white or sepia toning. Double-click a photo and use the three editing tabs on the left.

63 3/10/10 Version 1b Add photos to Picasa

Use Picasa to view photos already on your computer, or to import photos from your camera.

Add photos already on your computer

Once you've downloaded and installed Picasa, you have total control over the photos that Picasa displays. Picasa shows you the photo and video file types that you tell it to find, in the folders that you tell it to search.

Control the folders that display Control the file types that display

Click Tools > Options (PC) or Picasa > Preferences (Mac) to control Click Tools > Folder Manager to control which folders are displayed: which file types are displayed

Import new photos

Of course, not all your photos reside on your computer. You can import photos into Picasa from many sources, including cameras, CDs, memory cards, scanners, webcams, and more. Photos you import are saved on your computer and displayed automatically in Picasa.

64 3/10/10 Version 1b Organize your photos

The folder list on the left is the hub for Picasa organization. By scrolling through this list, you can access all photos displayed by Picasa. To understand Picasa organization, you need to understand the following three collections:

• Folders Folders in Picasa represent the folders on your computer. You control the folders that are scanned and displayed by Picasa. Changes you make to folders in Picasa affect the corresponding folders on your computer's hard drive. For example, if you delete a photo in a Picasa folder, that photo is also deleted from the computer. http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=11511 • Albums Unlike folders, albums exist only in Picasa. Albums allow you to create virtual groups of photos taken from multiple folders on your computer. Albums display those photos without actually moving the photo -- it's like a playlist for photos. When you delete or move photos from an album, the original files remain in their original folders on your computer. • People In this collection, you can organize your photos by what frequently matters most -- the people in them. Picasa uses facial recognition technology to find and group similar faces together across your entire collection of photos. By adding name tags to these groups of faces, new people albums are created. These people albums are just like the albums above: when you move or delete faces, the original files stay put. http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=156272

Don't worry -- Picasa always preserves your original photo. The photo edits you make are only viewable in Picasa until you decide to save your changes. Even then, Picasa creates a new version of the photo with your edits applied, leaving the original totally preserved.

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Basic Fixes Tuning Effects

Make simple edits -- such as cropping, Use the sliders to adjust the color and lighting Choose from 12 effects to make your photos straightening, removing redeye, retouching aspects of your photo to produce a more more interesting: Sharpen, convert to sepia or blemishes, or adding text -- to your photos. Or visually enhanced image. black and white, warm the photo, apply tint, click I'm Feeling Lucky to try Picasa's all-in- saturate the colors, and more. one lighting and contrast fix.

66 3/10/10 Version 1b Share your photos

Your photos take on more meaning when you share them with friends and family. Here are two ways to quick share your photos:

Upload photos to the web Use the Upload button in Picasa to upload all selected photos to Picasa Web Albums. Don't feel like picking through your photos? The

Share button uploads an entire folder or album, and sends email invitations to your friends and family.

Email photos

Click the Email button in Picasa to quickly send all selected photos to friends and family, using the email provider of your choice. Keep in mind that email doesn't accommodate a large number of photos, so if you want to share a lot of photos, consider uploading them to Picasa Web Albums, where you can take advantage of the free one GB of storage that's available.

Discover more features

If you've read this far, you're familiar with the basics of Picasa. As you become a power user, here are some of the features for you to explore:

Resize photos: One of the most popular -- and most hidden -- features of Picasa is the ability to resize photos. Use the Export button to quickly resize your photos. http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=13821

Sync to Web: When you enable Sync to Web in Picasa for a folder or album, edits made to your photos in Picasa are reflected immediately in the corresponding album in Picasa Web Albums. http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=106176

Make a collage: Make a collage and share it with your friends and family. Experiment with six different types of collage, and maintain total control over your collage content and layout. http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=19539

67 3/10/10 Version 1b Add captions: Adding captions can help tell the rest of the story. While editing a photo, click the text below that says 'Make a caption!'. Captions are displayed in Picasa, Picasa Web Albums, and other IPTC compatible programs.

Use Movie Maker: Combine your photos, videos, and music into a movie and upload it directly to YouTube. You can also trim existing video files.

Map photos: Use the Maps tab in Picasa to embed latitude and longitude information into the EXIF data of your photo file. This geographic data accompanies your photo when you upload it to Picasa Web Albums. (This is great for large fires or theatres of operations)

Print photos: Use the Shop button to order prints from our online print partners or use the Print button to print your photos at home.

Add tags: Tags are like keywords. By applying single or multiple-word tags in Picasa, you can quickly search and locate photos. The Tags tab offers quick tags, tag counts and the ability to manage your tags. (Take the time to do this on the front end!)

Upload to Blogger: Use the BlogThis! button to post photos directly from Picasa to Blogger.

Back up your collection: Protect those precious memories. Use Picasa to back up your photo collection to either an alternate drive (memory stick or thumb drive) or to CD/DVD. (A great tool if you need to make incident closeout CD/DVD’s and will include a cool slideshow viewer)

68 3/10/10 Version 1b Share your albums

When viewing an album, just click the Share button to send an email inviting them to view your album. Everyone you invite will be added to the 'Shared with' list, located to the right when viewing your album. Learn more about sharing and managing access for your albums. http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=39501

69 3/10/10 Version 1b Other Cool Features

Mapping Photos: Automatically use location data to map

By default, Picasa Web Albums will use any geographical information that is included in the photo EXIF data to automatically map your photos. To alter this setting in Picasa Web Albums, please take the following steps:

1. Sign in to your account at http://picasaweb.google.com. 2. Click Settings at the top right of the page. 3. On the Privacy and Permissions tab, in the 'Locations' section, toggle the box next to 'Automatically map photos if they contain location data.' 4. Click the Save changes button.

In addition to mapping your photos in Picasa Web Albums, there are several ways to add latitude and longitude information. You can use Picasa to quickly geotag your photos. Additionally, some newer cameras have the ability to automatically write latitude and longitude information at the time the picture is taken. http://picasa.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=70815

View in Google Earth

If you've installed Google Earth on your computer, just click the View in Google Earth link while looking at an album in map view. http://earth.google.com/

Sources: Picasaweb.com, Flickr.com, http://picasaweb.com/eneitzel, David K. Israel, MentalFloss.com, http://www.flickr.com/groups/nazstorm/

70 3/10/10 Version 1b Flickr - Share - Groups

Groups Defined: are a way for people to come together around a common interest, be it a love of small dogs, a passion for food, a recent wedding, or an interest in exploring photographic techniques. And if you can’t find a group which interests you, it’s super-easy to start your own.

Groups can either be public, public (invite only), or completely private. Every group has a pool for sharing photos and videos and a discussion board for talking.

Note: This is a great way to publicly solicit photos of your fire, incident or event. Or have other trusted incident personnel or agencies submit photos for your collection.

Flickr will supply you with a secret email address so PIO’s and partners can send pictures or videos directly to your Flickr account for you to move into the public group at a later time. This is very handy when you have folks in the field with Smartphone’s like Blackberries & iPhones etc.

Email: Tips & Tricks - Descriptions and Tags Not required but you can use the subject line to give your photo or video a title and the body to add a description. You can also use a special code to add tags before you send your email.

71 3/10/10 Version 1b Creating a new group

Privacy is a common area for concern on the web, but on Flickr it’s easy to control who you share your images with. For each of your photos and videos on Flickr you can set:

• privacy level, which determines who can see your image • usage license, so your copyrights are protected • content type, flag your photos and videos as either photos and videos, artwork/illustrations, or screenshots • safety level, so other members only see images within their specified comfort zones

72 3/10/10 Version 1b Tips for running your group

Ultimately it is the Admin’s that decide what the rules are for their group, but if you have been made an admin of a Flickr group, here are some suggestions for keeping your group happy:

Group Rules

You can require people to agree to group rules before they join the group.

During Operation Winter Storm I created a group just for sharing photos with the media and other agencies. We did not invite people to submit their own shots but we could have.

73 3/10/10 Version 1b Group Admin Guidelines

If you are the administrator of a group, here are some pointers for creating a thriving community:

1. Invite your friends, media, cooperators and anyone you know who is interested in what you are interested in. Having group members is the first step in having a successful group!

2. Visit the group frequently. Groups thrive with daily discussion, and with daily responses from other members of the community, in chat and on the discussion boards. Since the group is public people can leave comments and add notes and tags to it.

3. Moderate, moderate, moderate! Successful groups are kept in check by good moderation. Tend that garden; pull the weeds, mow the lawn, prune the roses, etc. To help you moderate your group, you can enlist other members to become moderators. Moderators don't have full administrative power, but they can help you moderate pool submissions, keep tabs on discussions, and weed out the people who don't play by the rules.

Removing and Banning. Here are some general guidelines to help Admin’s determine how and when to use the Removing and Banning Features.

“Removing” is when a person is removed from a group. They can come back if they want, but some trolls just need a cooling off period and are remorseful when they return.

“Banning” is for the unremorseful trolls who continue to be obnoxious. It means they cannot join the group, or the channel and are banished.

• Use this power wisely and sparingly. • If a troll types or posts something offensive, they should be warned. • If they continue their behavior, they should be removed. You can do this from the Admin view of the members list. • If they come back and continue their behavior they should be banned. You can do this from the Admin view of the members list. • Use your best judgment. Sometimes when someone is banned they go and create a new account using another name and rejoin the group. This is fine so long as they don’t continue the prior behavior. Permit them to be someone else. However, if they continue the behavior that got them removed in the first place, it's OK to ban them.

Now if you don’t want to have to moderate a group that’s okay. You can direct folks to your Main Flickr Photostream where you can lock down comments etc.

74 3/10/10 Version 1b Uploading Photos to Flickr

Flickr offers a range of tools you can install on your computer to make uploading your photos easier. You can drag and drop photos from your hard disk into Uploadr, and then publish them straight to your Flickr account. No mess, no fuss. http://www.flickr.com/tools/

Desktop Uploadr

The Flickr desktop uploadr sits on your desktop for heftier uploading needs or offline photo management. Drag and drop single photos or videos, or select a whole folder. Even reorder how photos will be displayed in your Photostream. http://www.flickr.com/tools/

From Google Picasa Yes that’s right. There is a plug-in for Picasa. This is great because I use the Picasa editor and Flickr for storage. http://picasa2flickr.sourceforge.net/index.html

Flickr Site

You can also use the upload form on the Flickr site. http://www.flickr.com/photos/upload/

Email Use your own unique address to email content directly into your Flickr account from your cameraphone or your email program. http://www.flickr.com/account/uploadbyemail/

Mobile New mobile site experience for iPhone and Smartphone users Visit m.flickr.com to see what's new.

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Analytics - Tools for Measuring Twitter Success

One of the important aspects of a Social Media presence is your ability to measure its effectiveness in achieving your end goal.

Twitter is considered to be the current rock star of Social Media. Having such fame, it will inevitably end up as a potential spoke for your Social Media Hub. It therefore becomes important to be able to measure its effectiveness.

Defining Twitter Success

While most “experts” and “gurus” will say that the key to success in Twitter is having a large number of followers, I’m telling you that isn’t the case. The quality of your followers is much more important than the number of followers you actually have. Sending dynamic messages (with links to articles, photos, etc.) with good content will cause engaged followers to retweet your messages and engage you and your agency in conversation. There is more value in these types of Twitter activities than just sending non-dynamic propaganda.

This becomes evident when you begin looking at these three free analytic tools that will help you determine the effectiveness of your Agency on Twitter:

76 3/10/10 Version 1b TweetStats http://tweetstats.com

This is a very simple tool that measures the number of tweets your account sends out on a monthly basis, as well as the density of messages and their times sent over the course of a week. The tool also gives you insight into the top ten users you have retweeted and who have “@” messaged you. While the analytics aren’t deep, this is a great little tool to measure just how much your Agency uses Twitter, and to be able to quickly spot any gaping holes in your Twitter messaging approach.

Twitalyzer http://twitalyzer.com

This is a more advanced tool for analyzing your effectiveness on Twitter. Twitalyzer breaks your statistics down into 5 groups: Influence, Signal, Generosity, Velocity, and Clout. Twitalyzer breaks down your activity on Twitter, coupled with the activity of your followers, and is able to develop a better picture of your account than just counting the number of followers you have. Twitalyzer excels as a tool used over time. I would recommend analyzing your Twitter account once a week on a set day, and once a month of analytics has been recorded you can look at the changes in a time based analysis.

Twitter Analyzer http://twitterlyzer.com

This is by far the prettiest user interface of the bunch. Twitter Analyzer provides you with a slew of statistics including your Popularity and Reach. However the real hidden jewel of the service is showing you the number of your followers who were recently online using Twitter. This is a hugely important statistic to know and understand, because the truth is the number of your overall followers are less important than the number of your engaged followers when you send out a Tweet.

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My Fire Videos http://www.myfirevideos.net

My Fire Videos is a video hosting website maintained by the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center. It is a great resource to find videos for training, professional development, and to share your videos with the wildland fire community.

Upload Your Video

Once you've finished editing your video, made sure it is in an acceptable format (flv, fla, wmv, wma, avi, mpg, mpeg), and smaller than 50MB in size, you're ready to upload it. • Click the Upload a Video link in the upper-right-hand corner of the page. • Login with your MyFireCommunity or IMTcenter account, or • Click the sign up now link to create an account in the MyFireCommunity.net website. • It’s just 2 steps – takes less than a minute – then you can return to the site and log in with that same username and password. • Once you've logged in, enter the title and description for the video you'd like to upload to the site. • Click the 'Browse' button to browse for the video file on your computer. Select the file you want and click "Open". • Click the 'Upload Video' button to start the uploading process.

It can take from a couple minutes to half an hour for your video to upload, depending on the file size and how fast your internet connection is. When the upload has completed, a message saying, "Your video has been uploaded," will appear on the screen.

Please note: Your video will not be immediately available to view - the website will first convert your video to flash, and then it will go into a pending folder until it is approved by LLC staff. If you have a video that needs to be available sooner, click the 'Contact Us' link on the navigation menu and let the Center know.

78 3/10/10 Version 1b Incident YouTube Channels http://youtube.com

What is a YouTube Channel? A channel is the page which is viewable by the general public and contains a user's profile information, videos, favorites, etc. To view your own channel, sign into your account and click your username, displayed at the top-right of any page. The Account page which allows you to manage your account and channel. To view another user's channel, simply click on their username and you'll be directed to their channel page.

Account Type - There are several types of accounts available to everyone: Comedian, Guru, Musician, Director, Reporter and YouTuber. There are also other accounts (such as Politician and Partner) which are only available to certain people who apply for them and qualify. You can easily change your Account Type by going to your Account page, clicking on Edit Channel (under "More"), and clicking the "change channel type" link at the bottom of the page. It is recommended to use the Reporter account type for your incident.

Bulletin - A bulletin is a message posted on a user's channel and sent out to all of that user's contacts.

To post a bulletin:

1. Click the Broadcast a message link under "Bulletins" on your channel. 2. Fill in the subject line and body and select a video to attach from the drop- down menu if you'd like. 3. Click the "Post Bulletin" button. Your bulletin will appear on your channel shortly.

To remove a bulletin:

1. Click the "See all bulletins" link on your channel. 2. Place a check beside the bulletins you'd like to remove. 3. Click the "Remove Checked" button.

Captions - The Caption feature allows you to give viewers a deeper understanding of your video. Adding captions and subtitles makes your videos more accessible to people who can't follow along with the audio—either because they speak a different language, or because they are deaf or hard of hearing.

79 3/10/10 Version 1b Category - A video can belong to one of several topic areas, called categories. YouTube conveniently organizes much of its featured content under the "Videos" tab located at the top of each page. If you are looking for something related to a specific category, try the "Categories" tab where videos fall under the following categories: "All", "Autos & Vehicles", "Comedy", "Education", "Entertainment", "Film & Animation", "Gaming", "Howto & Style", "Music", "News & Politics", "Nonprofits & Activism", "People & Blogs", "Pets & Animals", "Science & Technology", "Sports", and "Travel & Events". Getting Started: Edit and customize your channel

A channel is the page which is viewable by the general public and contains a user's profile information, videos, favorites, etc. To view and edit your own channel, sign into your account and click your username (displayed at the top-right of any page). To view another user's channel, simply click on their username (on the video page) and you'll be directed to the user's channel page.

Customizing And Editing Your Channel

Once on your channel page, look below the search bar, you'll see a grey "Edit Channel" section where you can make edits to your channel. Click the "Settings", "Themes and Colors" or "Modules" button to edit those aspects of your channel.

Once you click on one of the buttons, the window will expand and you'll be able to make the edits to your channel from there.

Settings

On your channel page, look below the search bar. You'll see a grey "Edit Channel" section. Click on this section to start editing your channel.

If you'd like to edit your channel's settings, click the "Settings" button. You'll then be able to view and edit the information associated with your channel:

• Your channel's title • Tags (to help other users find your channel in search)

Don't forget to click the "Save Changes" button (in the lower right hand corner of the window) to save and apply the updates you just made.

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Themes and Colors

On your channel page, look below the search bar. You'll see a grey "Edit Channel" section. Click on this section to start editing your channel.

In order to edit your channel background and color theme, click the "Themes and Colors" button. The window will expand and you'll see certain color theme options. You can select one of these themes for your channel, or create your own theme.

Updating your channel background:

• By clicking on one of the color themes, the background of your channel will change to show you a preview of how your channel will look if you select that them. • If you like that theme, and want to have it displayed on your channel, click the "Save Changes" button to update your channel. • If you don't like the theme you're seeing in preview, simply click "cancel", or click on another theme to change the channel background.

Customizing your channel background and theme:

• Click "show advanced options" (located below the standard color themes). • The window will expand and show you a variety of ways to create your own background theme. Customize it by selecting different colors for the various aspects of your channel.

Click the "Save Changes" button to update your channel with these changes

81 3/10/10 Version 1b Modules

On your channel page, look below the search bar. You'll see a grey "Edit Channel". Click on this section to start editing your channel.

In order to edit the modules/boxes which are displayed on your channel, click the "Modules" button. The window will then expand to display various options.

Select the modules that you'd like to display on your channel. The modules include:

• Comments • Friends • Subscribers • Subscriptions • Recent Activity

If you'd like to show one of these modules on your channel, click and select that option. Then click the "Save Changes" button to update your channel.

If you do not want to show one of these modules on your channel page, click and unselect the box next to that module option (so that the box is blank). Then click the "Save Changes" button to update your channel and hide that module.

Move your channel modules:

In order to change the order in which your modules appear on your channel:

1. Locate the module on your channel page. 2. In the right hand corner of the module you'll see several white circular buttons with arrows on them. 3. Click on the buttons to move the module in question up, down, or across the channel page.

82 3/10/10 Version 1b Highlight videos and playlists

You can choose to display and highlight videos on your channel. You can choose to display:

1. All (playlists, uploads, and favorites). 2. Just Uploads 3. Just Playlists 4. Just Favorites

To customize which videos you display on your channel, click on one of the four options (located to the right of the yellow "Subscribe" button at the top of the channel page). Your channel will automatically update to reflect your selection.

Captions / Subtitles definition

Captions and subtitles are the dialog of a video in written text format. Sometimes they also include information to help folks follow the dialog, like descriptions of music, phones ringing, and other sounds in a video's audio track.

Captions and subtitles make videos accessible to a wider audience by allowing folks who can not otherwise understand the audio track to follow along, especially those who are hard-of-hearing or speak other languages. Captions are in the same language as the video's audio track. Subtitles are in a different language.

You can add captions/subtitles to videos you've uploaded. It's optional but strongly encouraged to make your videos available to as many people as possible

Preparing a Transcript File

A transcript file must be saved as a plain text file without any special characters like smartquotes or emdashes.

Here's what a transcript might look like:

83 3/10/10 Version 1b >> FISHER: All right. So, let's begin. This session is: Incident Social Media and the YouTube caption process. I am Jeff Fisher, and this is Johann Hartmann, we're presenting today.[pause]

YouTube uses experimental speech recognition technology to provide automatic timing for your English transcript. Automatic timing creates a caption file that you can download. Short videos with good sound quality and clear spoken English synchronize best.

Here are some other things you can do to help get the best automatic timing results for your transcripts:

• Identify long pauses (3 seconds or longer) or music in the transcript with a double line break. • Use double line breaks anytime you want to force a caption break.

Here are some common captioning practices that help readability:

• Descriptions inside square brackets like [music] or [laughter] can help people with hearing disabilities to understand what is happening in your video. • You can also add tags like >> at the beginning of a new line to identify speakers or change of speaker.

Other caption resources:

Basic Guidelines for Busy Teachers, Families, and Others Who Shoot Their Own Video http://www.dcmp.org/ciy/

Online Captioning Sites: CaptionTube http://captiontube.appspot.com/ YouTube Subtitler http://yt-subs.appspot.com/

84 3/10/10 Version 1b Blogger (Incident Blog) http://www.blogger.com/

Creating your blog with Blogger takes just a few easy steps. In a matter of minutes you can start posting text, photos, videos, and more to your blog.

How do I create a Blogger account? In order to get started with Blogger, you'll first need to create an account. On the Blogger homepage, http://www.blogger.com/ click the "Create Your Blog Now" button:

On the following page you'll be prompted to create a Google Account. You can use your existing Incident Google Account. Once you're done with this, you'll be prompted to Create a Blog and get started!

To Create an Incident blog

To get started with Blogger, visit the Blogger homepage, enter your username and password, and click Sign in. Enter a display name and accept Blogger's Terms of Service. Then click the Create a Blog link and get started!

Pick a name and address (URL) for your blog. (Remember to stay constant to your incident name). Then, choose your favorite template (this is how your blog will look when you publish it). Now get creative, add information to your personal profile, and customize how your blog looks. Now you can start blogging!

85 3/10/10 Version 1b Write your post

Once you've signed in to Blogger, you'll see your dashboard with your list of blogs. Here's what you need to do:

1. Click the NEW POST button and enter anything you want to share with the world. 2. Next, you'll see the Create New Post page. Start by giving your post a title, then enter the post itself:

3. When you're done, click the Preview link to make sure it's ready to go:

4. Once you're satisfied with your post, click the Publish button. This will publish your new post and now you’re live online!

86 3/10/10 Version 1b Add an image

You can add an image from your computer or the Web to your blog. Click the image icon in the post editor toolbar. A window appears prompting you to browse for an image file on your computer, or enter the URL of an image on the Web.

Once you've selected your image, you can then choose a layout to determine how your image will appear in your post:

• The 'Left', 'Center', and 'Right' options allow you to customize the way your blog text will flow around your image. • The 'Image size' options will determine how large the image will appear within your post.

Click UPLOAD IMAGES to add your image, and then click DONE when the notification window appears telling you that 'Your image has been added.' Blogger will then return you to the post editor, where you'll see your image ready to be published to your blog.

You can also publish images to your blog using your mobile device, Google's free photo software Picasa, or a third-party service like flickr.

87 3/10/10 Version 1b Customizing your layout

Your template is an easy way to customize your blog. When creating a new blog, you're first asked to choose a default template; this is the basic design of your blog. You can choose from customize your blog's design using the intuitive drag-and-drop interface. You can also add powerful gadgets such as slideshows and user polls. Changing the fonts and colors on your blog is easy too. If you want more precise control over your blog's layout, you can also use the Edit HTML feature. To edit your blog's layout, follow these steps:

1. Click the Layout link from your dashboard below the blog you would like to customize. 2. From the Page Elements sub-tab, click Edit to edit existing gadgets, or Add a Gadget to add new ones. 3. To add a new gadget after you've clicked Add a Gadget, simply click the plus sign next to your desired gadget. You can choose from gadgets by category, or search for a specific gadget in the top right of the pop-up window. 4. Once you've added the necessary information to your selected gadget, click SAVE. Your layout changes will appear instantly.

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