Emergency reverse 911 systems are not working properly and residents are expected to evacuate before they get an alert.

So how are people getting information about this fire?

Folks are getting up to the minute information (and more information about localized evacuations) through Twitter and Facebook.

The Boulder Office of Emergency Management maintains an excellent website with an updated Emergency Status page (and runs on Joomla!).  The Status page has been heavily updated throughout the day.

But the Boulder Office of Emergency Management also maintains a Twitter account and a Facebook page.  Both are continuously updated, and their updates are making the rounds on both social networks.

I’ve long said that small cities and counties can use social networking tools instead of licensing expensive texting software to notify citizens of emergencies (outside of reverse 911 systems, that is).  And even in this situation, when reverse 911 systems aren’t working, it is useful for all to have a backup that is easy to post to (text messages for Twitter and Facebook).

To make matters worse, seniority rules resulted in the layoffs of younger tech-savvy employees who were among the most skilled in resolving computer problems, the report said.

“Those folks who were sleeping on cots to fix this system are the ones who were shown the door,” said one former employee.

My cellphone is something I depend on everyday.  If it can’t get a signal (because I can’t hold it correctly or AT&T’s horrible service) or if I can’t replace the battery (batteries hold less of a charge over their lifespan, and with the iPhone, I can’t change the battery), I can’t trust it to work when I need it.

Don’t get me wrong.  I love my first generation iPod Touch (seriously, love it).  The apps are incredible, and everything just works.  But the battery will barely last an hour now, and it crashes frequently.  My iPod Touch is just an extra, something I love, but I can live with out.

My cell phone (a Blackberry) is always there for me.

This helps me continue my move to the Ubuntu Linux operating system.

• First, simply putting information online for citizens.
• Second, online transactions (paying bills, reporting problems, applying for permits, etc.).
• Third, “expanding information to include this bulk download or easy, machine-readable, querying of data.”  (He also notes, “in this wave of innovation, government diverges significantly from the private sector. Few private businesses will want to place large amounts of data collected at their own expense in the public domain for anyone to see and use.”
• Fourth, sites where “constituents can not only report issues online (using a map-based interface in the case of see-click-fix) but also see what others have reported and even rank the importance of the issues which have been reported.”
• Fifth, allow citizens to track issues (and resolution of the issues) online.
• Sixth (and this is done by citizens and not government), citizens use government data sources to make applications (‘apps’) to inform policy-making.

Overall, this is a very good read from “the Chief Seattle Geek.”

The Harvard Gazette is now on WordPress, with a beautiful magazine-style design. There’s a whole meme/argument going around a few blogs and Twitter saying WordPress isn’t a CMS. Who cares what you call it, look at the amazing sites you can create. (And manage content on.) Who woulda thunk it. I thought WordPress was only good for “just a blog” — what are these Harvard gonzos doing? Fie! I say.

I have to agree.  I use WordPress to most everything!