On the future of crisis communications

Good evening everyone!

Just a quick post related to a good discussion started by Gerald Baron on the future of crisis communications.
http://crisisblogger.wordpress.com/2010/04/13/is-there-a-future-for-crisis-communication/

Some good comments resulted ... included one from yours truly.

Now, to sum up ... I think that because organizations and businesses now have the ability to respond and engage with their diverse audiences themselves ... they need some kind of advisor to help them do it effectively.

Furthermore, to be able to respond quickly and effectively, you need a plan, trained people and procedures ... that's work for crisis comms pros.

Add to that the fact that while crisis comms consultants may no longer have to develop news releases during a crisis ... their actual work has shifted to one of coordinator, arranger or even orchestra conductor ... as we help coordinate or advise our clients/command, on the best way to proceed, the best channels to use ... the best messaging to put forward ...

In summary, we're more needed now than ever before precisely because technology has multiplied comms channels ... hard enough for us to keep track ... clients/command could quickly be overwhelmed during a crisis ... cooler heads are needed !

Crisis communicators of the world unite !