The Need to Know

Let’s face it.  While we may protest to some degree or another, we are news junkies.  We may think that this is a new phenomenon – with news feeds, Facebook, Twitter, texts and emails literally with us in every waking moment – it is perhaps what we have always done.  From gatherings at hangings to checking out car wrecks, we just want to know what is happening when things go wrong.

I like to think that sometimes I watch because something is so sad or so horrible that I think I must watch to remind myself of how lucky I am.  It is also a time to connect with others, feel their pain and send them our sympathy and passion.  Perhaps it is a little of the voyeur in us, but then again it is our curiosity that has pushed us to the top of the food chain and able to manipulate much of the world around us.

It is for this reason that it is important to get information out as quickly, as accurately and as often as possible.  Maybe it is the mom in me, but my empathy genes shift into high expression when crises hit and my mind conjures up all types of images of how others must be feeling.  It is that, therefore, that makes me want to tell others what I know that might ease their anxiety, if only a little.

Being prepared for disasters is not only a good idea, but a potentially life saving one.  It is not, though, like going through the “real thing.”  That is the point, though, of the whole being prepared part is accepting that things will happen that are beyond your expectations.

That, I believe, is where information comes in.  Say there has been a fire, earthquake or shooting – while the shock of reality will certainly be there, the whats-where-how-whys of it will help us understand, figure out ways to cope then find a way to deal with it all.

For now, I think I better figure out that Twitter thing.  I think I am missing out on something important!  Now about that “hash tag” thing…

What is the Face in Facebook?

It has been a trying week. So much to do, so little time. So, what goes first? The extra little things -- the sudoku, surfing for recipes for tonight’s dinner, checking Facebook... For some, checking in with Facebook is as regular and necessary as having a meal, if not more often and more critical. For me, I check my Facebook maybe once a week. If that. I look for news, event notices, political articles, things that make me think. Personally, I’m really not interested in where someone is at the moment, or who washed their cars.

Many of my friends and certainly my teenage daughter think that I am a dinosaur in my thinking. Facebook is today’s face time, according to her and apparently millions of others. To be fair, I do see a potential with this type of networking. I have also witnessed the power of linking people after disasters or social events. Look at Egypt! Missouri! New Orleans! These are wonderful, completely valid uses of a pretty easy and accessible tool.

However, when I discover something that happened weeks ago and I am told, “Didn’t you see it in my Facebook?”, I sigh. Is that what we have come to? That the importance of my knowing something is equal to someone’s other 248 Friends? I guess my fear is that Facebook will soon replace the time when someone close to me actually calls me to tell me their arm is broken, or they need someone to talk to.

So, Facebook, I acknowledge you and your power. I see the genius in your ability to reach people when other avenues have not. I see you as an important tool, especially in times of crisis and disaster. But for the rest of my life, I’m old school. Please, just call me.

Viva Revolucíon!

Wow! What a week! One of the most important events in many of our lifetimes just occurred this past week. After 30 years of inarguably a corrupt and repressive government, the Egyptian President received a strong boot in the pants by the country’s own people. And what impressed me the most was that 1) relatively few people died and 2) it happened in large part by the power of the country’s youth!

OK, Sue, this seems a LARGE stretch to emergency preparedness, right? Au contraire! The youth of Egypt and the world are a much different breed from those of us from an earlier generation. Today, they communicate FAR more than we did at that age. They text, they tweet, they Facebook, they blog. And when Mubarak’s regime decided to pull the plug on the Internet for Egyptians, that was apparently “it!”

So, the point is that communication has changed drastically and it is really up to us to use it. Many people who felt lost in New Orleans after Katrina “found” their family via Facebook. Blogs gave a voice to those who wanted to let others know that they were broken a bit, but not beaten, and gave people a reason to hope. Text messages reached places that normal voice messages could not.

Communication will probably be the thing that will mean the successful survival after a major disaster. Yes, some services will be disrupted and possibly out for a while, but when we have so many ways of communicating, one will eventually be our way to life and recovery.

So, tweet, blog or log on to that Facebook now and start your own revolution to be prepared.