Celeste PewterJul 1, 2023

Something I keep thinking about:

The excessive heat warnings across the country today, and the people relying on Twitter to get information cooling centers, free water, etc.

If you run a social media account for an elected/agency, please bring up to your bosses that now is the time to start building up your platforms outside of Twitter too.

Show threadCeleste PewterJul 1, 2023

I've had those hard conversations too, and have been repeatedly told, "psh, Twitter isn't going anywhere."

Don't give up. Take the news articles about today as a data point, and build up your case for:

1. Expanding to a place like Mastodon/expanding your Instagram presence,

2. But also building in priority reminders in your website/GovDelivery messaging /content calendars on how people can find information, especially during emergencies.

Show threadCeleste Pewter

A lot of the people we answer to (especially in the case of electeds) might be older, and might not pay enough attention to the shift that's happening right now.

It's our job to define it and explain it to them, especially for those of us in constituent-service adjacent jobs.

Jul 1, 2023 at 9:46pmWeb
Show threadCeleste PewterJul 1, 2023

Also: for those of you who aren't in digital jobs, you can help here too.

If you see information that you can share on other platforms when it comes to something like today's heat warnings, please do. Whether it's NextDoor, your local Facebook groups...

It's going to take awhile for everyone to readapt to Twitter not being the go-to, but we can all help w/ this transition.

Show threadCeleste PewterJul 2, 2023
And here’s a quick carousel I wrote on this. https://www.instagram.com/p/CuNLIg6PfZk/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Celeste Pewter on Instagram: "I've been debating on whether I should write this carousel. But between the heat warnings happening throughout many states AND the mass shooting in Baltimore last night, it's increasingly clear that: 1. Twitter can no longer be our go-to for disseminating urgent information, especially as Elon isn’t likely to fix the hell site anytime soon, 2. And we need to push our elected officials to think of alternative solutions quickly - especially as we head into hurricane season, experience potential summer heat domes, etc. 
 And yes, offices should have thought of this before now. But the cogs of government turn very slowly, especially without external pressure. So any pressure we can add right now, will be super helpful."

Celeste Pewter (@celestepewter) on Instagram: "I've been debating on whether I should write this carousel. But between the heat warnings happeni..."

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