VOST Victoria

Our mission in 2017 and beyond. Hi all, it's been some time since our last post, and you might have noticed we've stopped posting the Emergency Management Commissioner's Summer weekly video briefing, and Total Fire Ban Warnings. This is because we shouldn't be seen as a source of information, and Social Media in Emergency Management (SMEM) operators and the public need to know where to find this information themselves, rather than relying on third parties like us. The...

Social media in emergency management (SMEM) is evolving again. The comeback of hashtags is a major change in 2016. While hashtags were popular a while ago on Twitter, there was a time when they were less relevant for traffic collation. We think the sudden revival of hashtags is mainly due to their popularity on Instagram, where hashtags are the only way to search content. The Victorian public have become familiar with clicking on hashtags to find traffic they're interested in. Hashtags are ...

Funded and prepared for the wildfire season Victoria is a most amazing place, and sure as there's summer, wildfires will begin to run across our great state soon. This is a scary reality for Victorians, and we can't be complacent about preparation. We're pleased to announce that the VOST has been fully funded for the 2015/16 season. Our workflow has evolved with the wisdom of past seasons under our belts. However, we can't take anything for granted and are prepared fo...

VOST Victoria - operations update - December 2014 We face a unique fire risk in Victoria. Every day during the summer season, fires run across our great state. Wildfire activity peaks from around 1 pm to 8 pm every day. Multiple fires must be tracked and their potential to impact on humanity assessed. The challenge of dealing with an overwhelming amount of simultaneous jobs tests our volunteers. VOST Victoria has evolved a unique workflow in order to make the best use of time for our limi...

Virtual Operations Support Team - social media monitors We're both honoured and humbled to have been mentioned in the Acknowledgments of the Hazelwood Mine Fire Inquiry Report. VOST Victoria provided services to the Hazelwood Inquiry, both archiving data acquired from Twitter, and performing analysis on data we collected. We're still archiving Twitter data relating to the Hazelwood Mine Fire Inquiry. The archive is available for use by others - please Contact Us for details...

A Busy Season Now that the fire-weather has abated, we'll take a quick look back at some of things we've been doing since we officially came into existence last year. We were conceived at the 'One Step Beyond' conference held in Melbourne in September 2013, which was attended by SMEM volunteers. The conference was hosted by Incident Alert. We were officially registered on 18th October, 2013. VOST Victoria compiled around 100 job notes for the season. Most of these were ...

2nd annual #SMEMau Special Event. VOSG (@VOST1) have announced the 2nd annual #SMEMau Special Event. The Australian Disasters Twitter #SMEMau Special Event will take place on Friday, 9th May 2014 at 0900hrs, AEST. For a copy of the open invitation, please see this VOSG post. Report about last year's event here. VOST Victoria volunteers will be attending, and we hope to see you there.

Code of Conduct for SMEM operators covering Victoria Overview:In September 2013, a number of SMEM’s convened in Melbourne and initiated a draft document for people who disseminate or provide information within social media circles.The code of conduct is voluntary, however the originators have discovered over time that this is also best practice.Code of conduct rules:Do no harmDo not broadcast details regarding injuries, or deaths, unless the police have released the details or it has been wid...

VOST Victoria - Contact Us ABN: 80448390199 Updated 5th April 2015. Hello all, the VOST Victoria website is managed by our volunteers. To report an emergency, dial 000 in Australia. Please find @VOSTVic on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VOSTVicFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/VostVictoria You can contact VOST Victoria by sending an email, or by leaving a comment anywhere on our website. Operations Manager: Brad Lemon 0413 396 419 General Manager: Daniel Eshuis 0402 733 419 Welcome, a...

About Virtual Operations Support Team (VOST Victoria) ABN: 80448390199 VOST Victoria's role is expanding. We provide support for Social Media Emergency Management volunteers, by identifying them on social media and providing information and structure to help them get their message out. The other role of VOST Victoria is a reporting role, and we collate Job Notes about major emergencies that occur in Victoria. These Job Notes are provided for intelligence purposes for government, and a...