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Annotated Bibliography Fire Services use of Social Media

Marlena McCall Professor Malcolm Campbell English 1103 March 1, 2012

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Annotated Bibliography Bischoff, Glenn. "Why fire, police departments need social-media policies Urgent Communications magazine. Urgent Communications, 8 Aug. 2011. Web. 18 Feb. 2012. I found this article on Urgent Communications, an online magazine, an electronic resource center for maintaining mobile communications. The article presents opposition to the fire services use of social media. Bischoff mainly covers Curt Varones, Director of the Fire Service Division at Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute, presentation at FDIC (Fire Department Instructors Conference spring 2010). The article points out that firemen are posting information and images attained while on-duty, on their personal social media pages and releasing other individuals personal matters to a public audience. Bischoff claims that the moral of the story is once something makes it to the Internet, youve lost all control over what happens to it next. Bischoff objectively and legitimately cautions the fire department when using social media yet does not discourage the department as a whole from using it. The point of the article is to propose that firefighters as individuals do not mix what they see while on-duty with their life on social media, off-duty. This source is helpful to my research because it opposed most of my research thus far, which is exactly what I needed, ironically. This source shares some specific points as to how to handle the down side of social media. Though I may not end up citing this article in my project, because it is basically a summary with a few additional thoughts on anothers presentation, it certainly provides some direction for further research of the opposition to the fire services use of social media.

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Coyle, Ronald . "Cincinnati fire department can benefit from social media - Cincinnati Social Media Examiner.com. Examiner.com, 21 Aug. 2010. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. This article supports the fire services use of social media. Coyle begins by stating that Jane Pendergrass proposed the idea: Does the Cincinnati fire department need a cultural makeover? He goes on to say that informing local firefighters how their actions (when using social media in this case) while off-duty could quickly land them in a legal mess, should be the among the first things taught in the media makeover. He suggests that the Cincinnati fire department could use many of the most popular social media tools (or sites) to their advantage to strengthen their connection to the community. Then Coyle takes the liberty of specifying examples of how to use various sites: Facebook & Twitter, Foursquare & Gowalla, and LinkedIn. Ronald Coyle is a Social Media Examiner in Cincinnati and has extensive experience in investigating the in and outs in the developments of various social medias. This article has been useful thus far in my research because it broadened my understanding of the various social medias. Until reading this article I was absent-mindedly thinking mainly of Facebook and Twitter, but there are many more popular variations of social media that I must consider if Im going to include the term social media in my topic. Social media as I learned in a different article encompasses a great deal. Mills, Cynthia. "Firehouse.com. Firefighting - Rescue - Firefighter Training - EMS Training -Firefighter Jobs - EMS -Technical Rescue - Extrication - HazMat Paramedic Firehouse, n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2012

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Firehouse.com is a reliable website. It is not about whether or not the fire service should use social media but rather an example of the fire services use of social media. The site inadvertently encourages firemen to use social media. The site advertises fire equipment, from turn out gear (the protective and reflective gear firemen wear when on a call) to trucks. The site includes forums with proposed questions, blogs, job openings, links to popular elearning (training) courses, and more. The site draws its viewer on the home page with footage from fires and the latest news coverage (concerning fires of course). The website is certainly supportive of firemen and their efforts and may be biased in the sense that the site is directed by people interested in firefighting. Anyone can browse the site, but you must be registered and logged in to post in forums. Registering is not as easy as providing your email; you must also (required to register) select your position in relation to a fire department, your rank, your occupation, and workplace. In addition you have to select what (concerning the fire service) you are interested in. You could choose multiple topics. I selected Computer & Internet when I registered. This source has already been helpful to me and it has much more to offer. The source presents new ways for fire fighters to use social media for good and alludes to more inquiries for my research. Firehouse.com lead me to realize how many fire fighters and departments already use social media. I will probably use Firehouse.com to find sources that can be used and cited in my project because it includes articles and video that can be more specifically cited (when pinpointing one). Robson, Edward. Social media policies: What you need to know. FireRescue1: Fire Service, Firefighters & Departments. FireRescue1, 15 Dec. 2010. Web. 23 Feb. 2012.

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Robson draws his reader into this well developed article by introducing a firefighter video of a fatal crash victim that went viral and including a link to another article describing the incident in greater detail. This leads his to his next point that unexpected sources of liability can be derived from poorly administered social media policies. The policies are intended to avoid breeches of privacy of those the fire department serves and the members of the fire department. Robson claims that these policies regulate the sharing of sensitive or personal information if its not your own. Then Robson refers back to the viral crash video, saying that it was distributed for personal pleasure. He immediately addresses the issue of the limits the first amendment places on such policies. He explains: The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as well as many state constitutions, sharply limits the manner in which the government may interfere with an individual's freedom of expression. Generally speaking, the government may not impose restrictions on speech unless they are "content neutral." To be considered content neutral, a regulation must be both "subject-matter neutral" and "viewpoint neutral." Courts presume that content based restrictions are invalid and place the burden on the government to demonstrate that the regulation has a compelling purpose. Robson then suggests how fire departments (and other Emergency Medical Service agencies) should address this. He suggests they avoid overbroad policies and avoid bans on specific subject matter or viewpoints. He also cautions them to avoid using the term social media in their policy because it encompasses so much, and to create multiple policies instead. He reminds the department to explicitly explain inappropriate use and why to its

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members, suggesting that they explain that the policy has been implemented to prevent speech that interferes with a department's efficient operation. He concludes with a final suggestion that the department consults with an attorney before punishing anyone for violating the policies terms. The author of this article is a attorney himself who is a managing member of Robson & Robson, LLC. This law firm represents volunteer fire and ambulance companies, including First Amendment matters. Robson has volunteered as an EMT since 2003 and is a current member of the board of directors of a large suburban fire company. Robson is defending the fire departments (along with other emergency companies) though is trying to direct them (as his intended audience) to a legal and uncontroversial means to use social media. I can rely on this article and the information it entails because of the extensive research the author has done. I will use this article in my final presentation of the collective material and research because of its unbiased presentation of legal issues. Legal issues pertaining to the fire services use of social media are after all the opposition to the topic.