It’s not just the pros anymore
…the definition of “the media” has changed. Today, anyone with a smartphone and YouTube is a TV journalist. Anyone with a smartphone and Facebook is a photojournalist. Anyone with a laptop and a blog is a newspaper reporter. The citizen journalist is the person with news to share and a way to share it. Quickly.
This quote, from a ProBlogService blog post by Erik Deckers, describes what I call “E-Reporters.” At first a niche group, the immense surge in popularity of social media has thrust many amateur, often accidental, reporters into the limelight.
E-reporting is so popular that it’s spawned a meme of its own, “In Case of Fire, Exit Building BEFORE Tweeting About It.” As with most memes, it doesn’t stray far from the truth, as regular citizens have provided inside reports of disasters, both natural and man-made, to inform the public as well as assist groups like police and rescue services with crisis management.
What does this mean to your organization? It all falls under basic crisis communications really, know when people are talking about you, listen, and respond. Of course, this is all made easier if you have the forethought to create a web presence and make some E-friends before trouble comes knocking.
The BCM Blogging Team
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/