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News Releases

Minneapolis Uses Social Media for Snow Emergency Awareness

03 December 2009

Dec. 3, 2009 (MINNEAPOLIS) Some drivers are well versed at finding out whether a Snow Emergency has been declared, and they know where to park. Others have learned this the hard way. Many folks out there are good about telling their friends whenever a Snow Emergency is declared. Do any of these people sound like you?

This Snow Emergency season, the City of Minneapolis is asking folks on Facebook to find out what type of Snow Emergency person they are and come up with an image that reflects that. When a Snow Emergency is declared, we want them to swap out their regular profile picture to that special Snow Emergency image. That way, their friends and families will also be alerted that a Snow Emergency is in effect so they can and avoid parking in the way of the snow plows.

For instance, a know-it-all Snow Emergency person who understands where to park better than anyone could create a profile picture featuring Albert Einstein, or possibly a brain. Someone who parks out of the way the plows at the very start of a Snow Emergency could create an image with an early bird getting the worm. More examples can be found at www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/snow/snow-type.asp.

Snow Emergencies are declared whenever there’s enough snowfall to warrant a complete plowing of our streets. When the snow flies, City Public Works crews have enormous jobs to do, with more than 1,500 miles of streets, parkways and alleys that need to be cleared. It’s important for drivers to follow the Snow Emergency parking rules so plows can do the best job possible clearing snow from city streets.

There are already close to 7,000 “fans” of the Minneapolis Snow Emergency profile on Facebook (www.facebook.com/MinneapolisSnowEmergency). These fans automatically get notifications on their own Facebook news feeds whenever a Snow Emergency is declared. Having them share that information with their own lists of Facebook friends will help us reach even more drivers than ever before.

Use Facebook to tell friends when a Snow Emergency is declared

It’s easy for folks on Facebook to tell their friends that a Snow Emergency is in effect:

• Come up with a Snow Emergency profile picture: This picture should reflect the person’s Snow Emergency personality. It also should include the Snow Emergency logo (or a slight variation of it) so friends will know that a Snow Emergency is declared. More information, the Snow Emergency logo and some ready-made profile pictures can be found at www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/snow/snow-type.asp.

• Tell your Facebook friends: Once a Snow Emergency is declared, people should change their Facebook profile pictures to their special Snow Emergency profile pictures to let their friends know a Snow Emergency is in effect.

• Share your images with the City: We want to see the many different Facebook profile pictures people create. They can be e-mailed to ProfilePic@ci.minneapolis.mn.us. We’ll add the best ones to the Snow Emergency page on Facebook for all to see.

Find out about Snow Emergencies

There are many ways you can learn about Snow Emergencies and find out whether one is in effect:

• Call the hotline - By calling the automated 348-SNOW hotline, folks can find out if a Snow Emergency has been declared. If one has, the hotline will include information on parking restrictions that drivers need to follow to avoid tickets and tows. The hotline includes information in Spanish, Somali, and Hmong.

• Check out the City’s Web site - Go to www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/snow to find out whether a Snow Emergency has been declared, and for a wealth of information on Snow Emergencies in many languages. Also, check out the street lookup, which lets you put in an address or a neighborhood to see what streets you can park at during a Snow Emergency.

• Mail - Every fall, Snow Emergency information is mailed to every household in Minneapolis. • Phone alerts - Minneapolis uses a phone alert system to notify residents when Snow Emergencies are declared. It is an automated notification system that can place thousands of calls per hour.

• E-mail alerts - You can sign up to get Snow Emergency alerts automatically e-mailed to you. Go to http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/snow/esubscribe.asp for more details.

• The media: News releases are sent to the media so TV and radio stations can inform their viewers and listeners that a Snow Emergency is in effect.

• On Cable - Tune in to cable channels 14 and 79. These channels will have information in several languages when a Snow Emergency is declared.

• Facebook - Become a fan of Snow Emergency on Facebook. Go to www.facebook.com/MinneapolisSnowEmergency.

• Twitter - New this year is a Snow Emergency Twitter page: twitter.com/minneapolissnow. If you have a Twitter account, just follow us. Both the Twitter and Facebook pages will tell fans and followers when a Snow Emergency is declared.

Communications Department 301M City Hall 350 S. 5th St. Minneapolis, MN 55415

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