When I teach Probies in my departments internal fire school, I always tell them that they already know more than many veteran members. Because of the most up to date tactics that they are learning, they already have one up on the older guys who become complacent and are hesitant to constantly upgrade their skills to be on the cusp of today’s standards.
The same is true for PIO’s. If we do not constantly stay up to day on the latest trends and tools we are always taking a step backward.
Most Public Information Officers have to continually upgrade their skills yet I know lots that are very reticent about adding new skills, especially in the digital media area. They hate to shoot photos, or video, or edit the video. I know a PIO in a volunteer department in my neck of the woods that does not know how to upload a photo!
Carrying a pencil and a notepad is not enough, PIO’s, nowadays, need to know how to produce media content in a variety of ways.
Here are some basic digital skills that PIO’s must have to continue to succeed:
1 – How to shoot a photo with a digital camera and transfer it to a computer for a quick edit.
2 – How to upload an image to the Department web site in the right format and size.
3 – How to add a hyperlink to a word or part of a sentence by hand. (i.e. hyperlink)
4 – How to quickly shoot digital video at a scene, event or training exercise and do a quick edit and upload it to a hosting service such as YouTube, in the right format.
5 – How to embed the code for a video in a web page and resize it to fit the page width.
6 – How to capture audio for a video, or just an audio-only podcast, so that the audio is clear and background noise is minimal.
7 – Know some basic HTML and what it does so that common problems with a web page can be quickly fixed.
8 – Know some basic CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and what it does, and be able to quickly fix any problems with a web page.
9 – Know how to move your content, if needed, on the Internet via Twitter, Facebook etc.
Also on The Fire PIO…
- A PIO Social Media Christmas – December 22, 2010
- Even the Walls have Ears – November 24, 2010
- Group Pressure Personified – December 15, 2010
- Two Types of Press Releases – January 5, 2011
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