We all have our thoughts/concerns about social media. Some people dive in deep while others stand around the edge of the pond and say “No Thanks”. However, Social Media can have its good side and you can use that to your advantage.
Twitter is one of those things that you can take advantage of without having to actually participate. Twitter’s short bits of information make it timely, easy to read and extremely useful. IF…….. you follow the right people.
Don’t follow your favorite beer maker, car dealership or snack food company. Only follow those individuals or organizations that will feed you the information you need. Being that we are ARES, that is going to be EmComm related posters. Here are a few that I follow and recommend. Please note that you can click on any of these Twitter links, see what they are posting and decide for yourself. Without having to create an account.
Getting updates for weather, law enforcement, emergency services and travel can be a major benefit to you. Using Twitter on your computer via the browser or an App on your phone and/or tablet, puts that information at your finger tips as it happens. You don’t have to wait for the evening news or the morning paper to know what’s important to you.
You can open a Twitter account with a minimum amount of information. Use you Ham Radio Call Sign as your login name. There are thousands of Ham Operators doing just this. Then add some of the above tweeters and search using keywords to find others that post the information you are interested in. You can visit https://twitter.com to look around and create a login. Download the app on your devices as well. If in the end you don’t like it, just close the account. You never have to post anything if you don’t want, you can just use it as a News Feed as many of us do.
Thank you and I hope you found this useful. Please note that the opinions expressed here are my own and not of Mesa County ARES or its participants.
John Fuller, WJ0NF
The National Weather Service office in Grand Junction offers free Spotter Training Classes throughout the year and around the western slope. If your interested in learning how to spot severe weather and learn about the dangers from these storms, we encourage you to attend one of their free 2 hour classes.
