208: Hurricane Ian: How Social Media Has Changed the Way We Experience Disasters

Anyone who lives in Florida will have heard a hurricane warning recently, well today’s episode is a hurricane content warning. At the time of this podcast’s recording, Hurricane Ian was close to making landfall. This episode looks at President and CEO of the Red Cross Gail McGovern’s warning to those in Florida, why some people did not heed her advice, and what social media has to do with the problem. 

Discover why Hurricane Ian is the first social media hurricane and how both ordinary citizens and federal and local authorities are creating content around it. Tune in to hear a breakdown of three concerning social media trends related to the hurricane and people’s safety, as well as a warning and some key takeaways related to communication about crisis situations like this one. 

Key Points From This Episode: 

• Today’s topic: Why people did not heed Gail McGovern’s warning to Floridians about Hurricane Ian and what social media has to do with this problem. 
• The current status of the hurricane at the time of this episode’s recording.
• Three concerning social media trends related to Hurricane Ian and people’s safety.
• Why Hurricane Ian is the first social media hurricane. 
• Thoughts on how federal and local officials are using social media.
• The value of live video and why organizations need to use social media to reach people.
• How younger generations use social media as a search engine. 
• The Indestructible PR tip for the day about remote workers in crisis situations.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Molly's Hurricane Ian TikTok post 

Molly McPherson 

Molly McPherson on Twitter 

Molly McPherson on TikTok 

Molly McPherson on YouTube 

Molly McPherson on Instagram 

Indestructible PR on Facebook

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