Suppose you were given the responsibility of determining the content for a large public company's "Tip of the Week" section on their Emergency Preparedness Facebook page. You are mandated to keep the material relevant and concise, and to assume a wide, varied demographics with little knowledge/skill level. What subjects would you include in your weekly message?

Currently, preparation for snow storms is a hot topic for a large number of people in the Northern Hemisphere. Drought topics should be pressing right now in California because we are talking about "preparation" after all. Unfortunately, prep discussions for a drought won't be that pressing until people are mandated not to water their lawns this summer.

Really? My current temperature is around 67F, with light wind and bright sunshine. Of course,we are in the midst of a searing drought, with the ever present threat of earthquakes....

Unless your audience is relatively concentrated, I would suggest something like "Discover our Local Hazard Profile"...

Interesting question

Hikermor -- Why so cool? My current temperature is 84F, with very light wind and bright sunshine. Can't wait for the June gloom to roll in and cool things down

Is this for folks in said large public company or for anyone who hits your website? This time of year maybe cold weather prep, next May start thinking hot weather prep, Hurricane season prep, Earthquake prep -- think of a natural disaster or what used to be called weather and put together a package to deal with various conditions. What was that post about getting caught out after watching the sunset? Oh yeah, it got dark, so maybe some ideas about EDC and things folks should consider carrying, like a small flashlight.

Maybe make a few points about knives being tools. They're giving you a soapbox...

I have relatives who have never experienced snow, but the events in Atlanta have made them interested in snow storm preparation. The knowledge would be good for them.

Likewise, you don't have to live in drought territory to benefit from drought preparation. Chances are you know several people who live in drought territory, or you may be visiting drought territory.

A good rule of thumb for this topic is to focus prep around what is hot in the news. Using such a rule, the preparation may be too late in many circumstances. However, if you post winter prep at the beginning of summer for example, then only a few people will swing by your Facebook page to read those tips.

I apologize -- I should have been more clear. The page would be for the public at large. And by concise, I meant that the content should be about a couple of paragraphs in length, with hypertext links for more info.

That reminds me -- The first time my mother, may she rest in peace, ever heard me mention hypertext links, she thought I was talking about a new type of sausage. I still chuckle over that one.

How about a re-hash of the must have items, either Red Cross or FEMA?

to touch on what JBMat commented.. explain why that particular item is included... when Homeland Security and FEMA included a roll of duct tape, there were a lot of "jokes" thrown around by the evening news people... explain that it might be necessary to seal off your residence in case of a chemical, biological, or radiological incident... not everyone has the memory of the SCUD missile attacks on Israel, and the threat of chemical weapons...

Training, training, training! If nothing else, everyone should take CPR and basic first aid training.

While different areas face different hazards, one common problem is fire, either wild or structural. We could all potentially face the tricky hazards of downed high voltage lines, as well.

And yes, Chaosman is right, FA and CPR are fundamental. All sentient adults should have at least this much training.