Yesterday, I hit 1,000 followers. Thank you, everyone, for your support!
Dawn Pisturino
June 14, 2022
Reprise: A Writer 24/7
Adopting the writer’s mantle places us instantly in the spotlight. Everything we say, write, and do is being evaluated and judged by people we don’t even know.
With this in mind, it’s important to display our best writing at every opportunity.
I recently read a blog post by an English writer that was poorly formatted, riddled with errors, and unprofessional-looking. The purpose of the blog was to dispense writing advice to budding young authors. But what can a young author learn from run-on sentences and words that blend into one another with no punctuation or spaces? Needless to say, I no longer follow that blog.
Many self-proclaimed authors haunt Facebook and other social media sites. They promote their books with quickly-composed, ungrammatical sales pitches that reflect poorly on their abilities as writers. My thought is this: if they can’t write a simple post on Facebook, how can they write the next Great American novel? The answer is obvious.
E-mail tends to be a casual form of communication, but some people take it for granted that it’s okay to write in texting jargon and incomplete sentences. Clear, concise communication should be even more important when writing e-mails. I check my grammar and spelling every time I send out an e-mail because I want my readers to see me as a real writer.
My elderly aunt fills her hand-written letters with poetic descriptions of the seasons and countryside where she lives. She’s not a writer, but she knows how to write. She knows how to turn a phrase and color a description so that it sticks in my head. She makes me imagine that once upon a time she wrote poetry in some dark garret. That reminds me–I need to ask her!
Writing is a 24/7 job. And everything we compose should reflect our abilities as a writer. Our readers expect it. Our profession demands it.
Published in the July-August 2012 issue of Working Writer.
Dawn Pisturino
June 13, 2022
Copyright 2012-2022 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
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What I’m Doing Right Now
Hello!
So, what am I doing right now?
I submitted two short stories to Masticadores India, and I’m waiting to hear back on publication dates.
I submitted another poem to Masticadores USA, and I’m waiting to hear back.
I submitted a poem to the Arizona Authors Association Literary Contest. I will find out later in the year the results of that submission.
I submitted a poem to Spillwords Press, the first time I have done so. I had technical trouble trying to submit it, but after several attempts, it finally sent.
I submitted a poem to David ben Alexander’s The Skeptical Kaddish Poetry Partners.
I’m waiting for the Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women anthology to be released.
I have several short stories to finish and novels that I’m working on. There aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything!
~
A few months ago, I finished reading 1,000 pages of the complete works of Edgar Allan Poe. It took me forever to read because a lot of it was rather boring. I got the bright idea to read the complete works of H.P. Lovecraft. Two thousand pages later, I can honestly say I have read all of his works. I finished last night, and boy, was I happy! I love his ability to create a dark mood, but a lot of it was redundant. Truthfully, in both the case of Poe and Lovecraft, only a few well-written stories and poems really stand out.
I bought a bunch of mysteries at Barnes & Noble when I was in California, so I am moving on to those. My brain needs a break from the dark and heavy stuff.
~
On Paramount+, my husband and I are watching The Offer and Joe Pickett. He watches all the Star Trek/Star Wars stuff. I’m waiting for the next season of Evil to start. I like my British and Scandinavian detective shows on Acorn, BritBox, and PBS Masterpiece. Recently, I have found some French detective shows that incorporate paranormal overtones and which have turned out to be pretty absorbing.
~
I’m updating and improving my author resume website at http://www.dawnpisturino.org (please check it out!) and all of my social media sites.
~
I’m working on losing the weight I gained in California (too much restaurant food – Armenian, American, Italian, and Japanese), taking walks, exercising, and doing other healthy self-care stuff. I like to sit on the front porch every evening with the dog and read and watch the wildlife. It’s very relaxing.
~
And, I’ve been listening to one of my favorite classic rock bands: The Doors. Listening to them puts me in an altered state of consciousness.
“All the children are insane.” Sound familiar? The violence happening now is a culmination of several decades of post-World War II social dysfunction.
It was Jim Morrison who famously said: “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m going to get my kicks before the whole sh*thouse goes up in flames” – referring to nuclear war, which still remains the ultimate existential threat to humanity.
May the Muses tickle your brain today. May you write, compose, photograph, dance, sing, and paint like there’s no tomorrow!
Dawn Pisturino
June 2, 2022
Copyright 2022 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
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Beware of Romance Scammers
I was going to post something else today, but then it happened again – some guy contacted me on Facebook wanting to be best buds. I immediately responded that my husband and daughter are my best friends. If I never hear from him again, that’s okay. More than likely, he’s a romance scammer.
Most of my social media activity is on WordPress. I enjoy posting things I’ve written and visiting other people’s blogs. I stay on Facebook mostly to stay in touch with family. I like looking at people’s photography on Instagram. I never liked Twitter and don’t use it. Not only do I not like Twitter management or Twitter as a company, but the nastiest people seem to hang out there. I’ve met some real kooks who just can’t get it through their heads that we live in a free country where all points of view are valuable. I’m not obligated to agree with them, no matter how nasty they get. LinkedIn is supposed to be a professional site, but it’s now used for dating purposes. I try to be polite and friendly to everyone, but it’s impossible when someone has hurt feelings because you rejected their romantic advances. So much for professionalism.
Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp are notorious sites for predators trying to pick up vulnerable women and children. And it has gotten worse with the isolating effects of COVID-19 and all the restrictions placed on us. People are hungry for affection and communication, and this sets them up as victims of romance scammers, if they aren’t careful.
Scammers will contact you with credentials like “widower living in San Diego but currently working for the UN in Yemen.” They often pose as a doctor or other humanitarian worker. They may have at least one child in boarding school. They send you enticing photos of themselves which have probably been stolen or faked. They come off as real friendly and understanding, sincerely looking for a good friend and/or partner. They try to win your trust through flattery and play on your burning need for affection. As you become more involved, they try to control the conversation, control you, and put guilt trips on you if you try to back off. They can be downright abusive in maintaining that control. Eventually, they will hit you up for money or sex or whatever they are looking to get from you.
They don’t care if you are married, how many children you have, or how old you are. They will tell you that such things don’t matter with true love. Many of these scams come out of Nigeria, so talking on video chat is questionable. After all, it’s hard to explain how the white man in the photos working as a doctor in Yemen suddenly turned into a black man living in Nigeria.
Valentine’s Day is a day when we honor our spouses, our partners, our love interests, our children, and our friends. Everybody wants a little romance in their life. But online scammers know this and will make you pay a heavy price for that digital experience.
Dawn Pisturino, RN
February 9, 2022
Copyright 2022 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
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Community Engagement: The Boston Marathon Bombing
The Boston Marathon bombings on April 15, 2013 changed how police departments communicate with the public during important emergency events. For the first time, social media played a critical role in communicating information about the bombings and capturing the culprits (Haddow, 2017).
On the day of the bombings, Commissioner of Police Ed Davis held a press conference. He calmly explained what happened and reassured the public that Boston had a comprehensive emergency response plan in place. The FBI, State Police, National Guard, and ATF were already in the city, offering their services. The Commissioner exuded confidence, control, and common sense. He asked for the public’s help in capturing the perpetrators (Global Breaking News, 2013).
Commissioner of Police Ed Davis and the Boston Police Department were committed to providing accurate, timely information to the public and keeping the lines of two-way communication open. He asked people to stay home and away from crowds for their own safety. He asked people to call the Mayor’s hotline and the Boston PD TIPS line with information (Global Breaking News, 2013).
The Boston Police Department was a leader in using social media to communicate with the public. Photos, videos, and information were shared through Twitter, Facebook, and websites. Inaccurate information was quickly corrected. It was noted by Bar-Tur that “BPD’s presence online helps reinvent the whole notion of community policing for the 21st century” (Haddow, p. 185, 2017). When the Tsarnaev brothers were finally caught, Boston Police Department tweeted a resounding “CAPTURED!!!” (Haddow, p. 185, 2017).
Instead of cowering in fear and feeling powerless, the Boston community was kept involved. This community empowerment contributed to situational awareness and the recovery of Boston after the event.
Global Breaking News. (Presenter). (2013, April 15). First press conference boston marathon
bomb attack [Video file].Retrieved from (link not working):
Haddow, G.D., Bullock, J.A., & Coppola, D.P. (2017). Introduction to emergency
management. (6th ed.). Cambridge, MA: Elsevier.
Dawn Pisturino
Thomas Edison State University
October 7, 2019
Copyright 2019-2021 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
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What 9/11 Taught Us about Communications and Social Media
What Happened on September 11, 2001:
At 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City (911 Memorial, 2018).
John Murphy, CEO of Oppenheimer Funds, was jogging in Battery Park when he saw the smoke. He assumed that an airplane had inadvertently crashed into the World Trade Center (Argenti, 2002).
Mary Beth Bardin, executive vice-president of public affairs and communications at Verizon, was stuck in traffic when she noticed the smoke. She assumed that a building was on fire in downtown Manhattan. When the cab driver turned on the news, she learned that an airplane had crashed into the World Trade Center (Argenti, 2002).
Verizon suffered major communications damage. “The attack knocked out 300,000 voice access lines and 4.5 million data circuits and left ten cellular towers inactive, depriving 14,000 businesses and 20,000 residential customers of service” (Argenti, para. 9, 2002).
Communication breakdowns abounded during the emergency response to the attacks on the World Trade Center. 911 operators had no clue of what was actually happening. Orders to evacuate were misunderstood or not received. Telephone lines were jammed with callers. Signals to firefighter radios failed. Public address and intercom systems inside the World Trade Center went out (CBS News, 2004; Sharp, 2011).
Confusion and lack of situational awareness led to higher casualties. People in the South Tower were told not to evacuate and to wait for instructions and help from emergency personnel. Others evacuated up, toward the roof, not knowing that they needed a key to get onto the roof (CBS News, 2004).
A “long-standing rivalry between the NYPD and FDNY” (CBS News, para. 23, 2004) led to disputes over command authority. Fire and police personnel were using different radio channels and could not communicate with one another (CBS News, 2004; Sharp, 2011). A repeater system installed in the World Trade Center after the 1993 bombing was not completely functional (Sharp, 2011). All of these issues were addressed in the 9/11 Commission Report.
* * *
People in New York City Knew Something was Happening, but They Didn’t Know What!
A lot of Changes have Happened Since 9/11:
Post-9/11, the Department of Homeland Security was created, and a National Incident Management System was established to designate clear lines of authority during disaster events.
The role of Communications has evolved.
Better technologies have been developed.
The rise of Facebook, Twitter, Google, and other social media networks has allowed two-way communication with the public.
Emergency managers now hire trained communication specialists to communicate accurate, timely information to the media, community and national leaders, and the public. (Haddow, 2017).
* * *
Why are these Changes Important?
New York City now has a state-of-the-art fire department operations center. During a disaster, the FDOC contacts other agencies for help. Personnel report to FDOC senior staff. The department’s incident management teams can be activated. FDOC can access NYPD videos, the Department of Transportation digital photographs, and live videos from media helicopters and ground vehicles. FDOC can monitor, record, and replay radio transmissions from Fire, EMS, NYPD, OEM, and others. FDOC can act as a command center. (Sharp, 2011)
FDNY now uses multi-frequency radio systems to communicate with each other and NYPD (Sharp, 2011).
Training in National Incident Management System processes is now mandatory to ensure that agencies are working together, using the same language, and sharing information with each other (Sharp, 2011).
The changes made in New York City have been duplicated in communities all across the country.
Community first responders now have social media sites on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks to educate the public about disaster preparedness; relay accurate, timely information to the public during a disaster event; and help members of the community to register for disaster aid and find relief shelters (Haddow, 2017).
* * *
Use the Internet for Disaster Information:
In 2001, YouTube, Google News, Facebook, and Twitter did not exist (Praetorius, 2012).
Today, the Internet allows free access to all kinds of information:
Social networks like Facebook
Blogs like Blogger and WordPress
Microblogs like Twitter
Crowdsourcing and Forums like LiveJournal
Digital Mapping like Google Maps
Websites
Podcasts and TV and Radio broadcasts
Video Sharing like YouTube
Photo Sharing like Instagram
Wiki sites like Wikipedia (Haddow, 2017).
* * *
Participate with Social Media:
“Social media is imperative to emergency management because the public uses these communication tools regularly” (Haddow, p. 171, 2017).
Submitting videos, photos, digital maps, and information
Receiving information about casualties, injuries, and damage
Communicating with friends, family, and co-workers
Raising money for disaster relief
Learning about preparedness and evacuation routes
Receiving guidance, information, and moral support
Learning how to find relief shelters and registering for aid
Access to FEMA information
Access to press conferences and local news (Haddow, 2017).
* * *
Summing it all Up:
“The mission of an effective disaster communication strategy is to provide timely and accurate information to the public in all four phases of emergency management” (Haddow, p. 162, 2017).
“Information sharing is the basis of effective disaster communications” (Haddow, p. 191, 2017).
* * *
Honor the Heroes!
View the Power Point Presentation on Dropbox:
Dawn Pisturino
Thomas Edison State University
October 7, 2019
Copyright 2019-2021 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
References
911Memorial. (2018). 9/11 Memorial Timeline. Retrieved from http://www.timeline.911memorial.org/#FrontPage.
Argenti, P. (2002, December). Crisis communication: Lessons from
9/11. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://www.hbr.org/2002/12/crisis-communication-lessons-
from-911.
Associated Press. (2004, May). Communication breakdown on
9/11. CBS News. Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/communication- breakdown-on-9-11.
Haddow, G.D., Bullock, J.A., & Coppola, D.P. (2017). Introduction to emergency management. (6th ed.). Cambridge, MA: Elsevier.
Praetorius, D. (2012, November). How social media would have changed new york on 9/11. Huffington Post. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/social-media-9-11-new-York_b_ 1872764.
Sharp, K. (2011, September). Interoperability & other lessons from 9/11.
Public Safety Communications. Retrieved from https://psc.apcointl.org/2011/09/06/911-10-years-later
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Communications and Social Media in Emergency Management
At 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. Seventeen minutes later, United Airlines Flight 175 smashed into the South Tower. At 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 nose-dived into the Pentagon building in Arlington, Virginia. All three airlines had been hijacked by members of the radical Islamic terrorist organization, Al Qaeda (Haddow, 2017; 911 Memorial, 2018).
Communication breakdowns were widespread during the emergency response to the attacks on the World Trade Center. 911 operators did not know what was actually happening. Evacuation orders were confused and misleading. Telephone lines were jammed with callers, and cell towers were down. Signals to firefighter radios failed. Public address and intercom systems inside the World Trade Center went out (CBS News, 2004; Sharp, 2011).
Confusion and lack of situational awareness led to higher casualties, especially among first responders. People in the South Tower were told not to evacuate and to wait for instructions and aid from emergency personnel. Others evacuated up, toward the roof, not knowing that they needed a key to get outside to the roof (CBS News, 2004).
Fire and police personnel were using different radio channels and could not communicate with one another (CBS News, 2004; Sharp, 2011). A repeater system installed in the World Trade Center after the 1993 bombing was not completely functional (Sharp, 2011).
By the time the Boston Marathon bombings occurred on April 15, 2013, emergency managers had learned the importance of communications during disaster events. For the first time, social media played a critical role in communicating information about the bombings and capturing the culprits (Haddow, 2017).
The Boston Police Department was a leader in using social media to communicate with the public. Photos, videos, and information were shared through Twitter, Facebook, and websites. Inaccurate information was quickly corrected. When the Tsarnaev brothers were finally caught, Boston Police Department tweeted a resounding “CAPTURED!!!” (Haddow, p. 185, 2017).
“Information sharing is the basis of effective disaster communications” (Haddow, p. 191, 2017). The public needs to know what is happening and where to get help. TV, radio, and newspapers have been the traditional media used for information. But the use of Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter has changed all that.
“Social media is imperative to emergency management because the public uses these communication tools regularly” (Haddow, p. 171, 2017). Not only can members of the public receive accurate and timely information from reliable sources, but they can help response efforts by submitting videos, photos, digital maps, and other information.
The use of social media allows friends and family to communicate with one another. They can view press conferences by local and national leaders. Information about shelters and registering for aid is readily available. People can contribute donations through websites (Haddow, 2017).
On the downside, social media has been responsible for spreading hysteria and misinformation across the Internet. “Misleading, faulty, or malicious information or pictures” (Haddow, p. 161, 2017) can hamper response and relief efforts. Dishonest people have been known to solicit donations for relief aid that never reached the intended source. When terrorism is involved, calls for retaliation are often posted.
Emergency managers have found that interacting with the public through two-way communication is an effective tool during disaster events. When emergency managers and local leaders commit themselves to providing timely and accurate information to the public, the whole community benefits. Communication specialists are now an important part of every Office of Emergency Management. They work with the local media to get disaster and relief information out quickly and effectively. Understanding what is actually going on helps members of the public to make well-informed decisions about evacuation, relief aid, and recovery (Haddow, 2017).
“The mission of an effective disaster communications strategy is to provide timely and accurate information to the public in all four phases of emergency management” (Haddow, p.162, 2017). Social media can provide information about disaster preparedness and limiting damages resulting from disasters. Local emergency responders can provide warnings of an impending event, information about evacuation routes, and up-to-date details about an ongoing event. After the event, social media and websites can help people register for and receive disaster aid. The FEMA website offers complete information about its mission and what services are available to disaster victims (Haddow, 2017).
Decades of experience have taught emergency managers the value of effective communication. Improved communication technology and social media contribute enormously to that goal.
Dawn Pisturino
Thomas Edison State University
October 10, 2019
Copyright 2019-2021 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
References
911 Memorial. (2018). 9/11 Memorial Timeline. Retrieved from
http://www.timeline.911Memorial.org/#FrontPage.
Associated Press. (2004, May). Communication breakdown on 9/11. CBS News. Retrieved from
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/communication-breakdown-on-9-11.
Haddow, G.D., Bullock, J.A., & Coppola, D.P. (2017). Introduction to emergency management.
(6th ed.). Cambridge, MA: Elsevier.
Sharp, K. (2011, September). Interoperability & other lessons from 9/11. Public Safety
Communications. Retrieved from
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A Writer 24/7
by Dawn Pisturino
Adopting the writer’s mantle places us instantly in the spotlight. Everything we say, write, and do is being evaluated and judged by people we don’t even know.
With this in mind, it’s important to display our best writing at every opportunity.
I recently read a blog post by an English writer that was poorly formatted, riddled with errors, and unprofessional-looking. The purpose of the blog was to dispense writing advice to budding young authors. But what can a young author learn from run-on sentences and words that blend into one another with no punctuation or spaces? Needless to say, I no longer follow that blog.
Many self-proclaimed authors haunt Facebook and other social media sites. They promote their books with quickly-composed, ungrammatical sales pitches that reflect poorly on their abilities as writers. My thought is this: if they can’t write a simple post on Facebook, how can they write the next Great American novel? The answer is obvious.
E-mail tends to be a casual form of communication, but some people take it for granted that it’s okay to write in texting jargon and incomplete sentences. Clear, concise communication should be even more important when writing e-mails. I check my grammar and spelling every time I send out an e-mail because I want my readers to see me as a real writer.
My elderly aunt in Michigan fills her hand-written letters with poetic descriptions of the seasons and countryside where she lives. She’s not a writer, but she knows how to write. She knows how to turn a phrase and color a description so that it sticks in my head. She makes me imagine that once upon a time she wrote poetry in some dark garret. That reminds me–I need to ask her!
Writing is a 24/7 job. And everything we compose should reflect our abilities as a writer. Our readers expect it. Our profession demands it.
Published in the July-August 2012 issue of Working Writer.
Copyright 2012 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.
Dawn Pisturino's Blog 