Hopefully this will be the last week I get on the soap box of bad government strategies and missing the point for the public good.

Last week, I was sheltered securely during Hurricane Irene as I facilitated an event in eastern Pennsylvania. During the week prior, I heard many warnings, announcements and things that were being done in preparation; the government was making decisions and moving people out of harms way including whole counties on the shore line.

Then the storm came and went as it was time for the all clear to be sounded.

And that is where the government showed an inability to focus on the citizen’s needs. As I sat there and tried to advise my attendees as to whether they could get back home, I found myself seeing nothing but yesterday’s warnings.

It would have been easy enough for the dollars that the government is spending on video to deliver some montages of mayhem or some pictures of problems that could help us sketch out what the options were and whether we should stay or go.

As the FCC (News - Alert) is looking to mandate next generation 911 services, they are missing the public good that would be facilitated if social networking could enable good citizenship amongst neighbors and not just to government powers.

Why can’t the networking used for school closings be incorporated into the experience of other hazards?

Town message boards with videos and people self reporting would be much better than the dictating of decrees that are useless after the event.

Emergency preparedness is a real problem that is being worked on, but the information distribution required for the public goes beyond the needs of the command center.

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