How do we survive surviving? By Ann SanCartier for Firestorm
Imagine. You head to pick up your child from school and abruptly, the only thing separating you, your daughter and your sister from 200 mile per hour winds are two collapsed walls supporting each other in a triangular formation. You hold your daughter with adrenaline-induced strength while you scream and pray as the realistic fear of being sucked up into a monster overwhelms you. That’s what happened to a family I spoke with who survived the Moore, Oklahoma Tornado. As they cowered for protection at Briarwood Elementary, what we now know to be an E5 tornado, whipped them with flying debris leaving their feet, arms, and heads lacerated by its ferocity. As this mother shared her traumatic experience with me, she related that her sister was waiting in their van parked outside the school. When the school advised her that a...To Full Article
A Bully in the BuildingIn a video released by ESPN's Outside the Lines, footage of Rice physically abusing players quickly went viral, and has resulted in the firing of Coach Rice.
"Based upon recently revealed information and a review of previously discovered issues, Rutgers has terminated the contract of Mike Rice," the school statement read.
“I am responsible for the decision to attempt a rehabilitation of Coach Rice,” said Rutgers Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Tim Pernetti. “Dismissal and corrective action were debated in December and I thought it was in the best interest of everyone to rehabilitate, but I was wrong. Moving forward, I will work to regain the trust of the Rutgers community.”
Social media allows the instant distribution of content, and results in public outcry far louder and more immediate than many organizations anticipate.This now spotlights a broader...
Often when I write an article on Social Media, I am discussing a faux pas on Facebook or a trip-up on Twitter. This past week however, as all eyes were on Louisiana and Mississippi, Hurricane Isaac, and protecting people and property in harm's way, I came across a company that "gets" it; not a slick marketing company, not a cool start-up, but a company that uses the phrase "Hard Stuff Done Right" on its products page. And what they do is hard - they build ships.
Not boats, not yachts. Ships. Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) designs, builds and maintains nuclear and non-nuclear ships for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard. I noticed Huntington Ingalls Industries while monitoring various news sources, Facebook, and Twitter crisis hashtags such as #SMEM (Social Media Emergency Management) as Hurricane Isaac approached the Southern Gulf. What I saw was a company putting emplo...
Social Media Risk Management
Commentary by Grant Rampy, Firestorm Expert Council Member Mr. Rampy is director of public relations at Abilene Christian University. He was White House Correspondent for Tribune Broadcasting in Washington, D.C., from 1999 to 2009. Facebook post leads to protest, apology, resignation Jason Vincent should have known better. As a former television news guy, I can tell you: Most TV people know implicitly that they’re being watched. If you’ve been given the privilege to come into people’s homes to share word of the day’s event, you can bet the people watching have certain reasonable expectations about who you are and who you aren’t. They assume you behave in a certain way – that you, for instance, are not going to pull a Randy Travis (driving while buck naked and allegedly 99% lit); that you aren’t robbing banks on the side; and that, as a matter of course,...
10 Social Media Risk Lessons from Recent Headlines
Firestorm Opinion, by Karen Masullo EVP Social Media Risk
As the person who is primarily responsible for Social Media Messaging for Firestorm®, I start each day exactly the same way: I check our monitoring tools for trending topics, and then check various news outlets in order to be aware of what has occurred globally while I have been away from my desk.
I do this to inform, comment, and alert others on our team to emerging issues and crises, but more important, I do this to assure my messaging is sensitive to emerging crises, and to those affected by events.
Lesson 1: “Every Crisis is a Human Crisis.”
Never forget that every crisis involves a Person; someone’s child, sibling, parent, spouse – someone’s someone. Every crisis has a face. One must however, be aware of a crisis emerging in the first place.
Le...
Twitter Updates will no Longer Post to LinkedIn
For those of you who ended your Tweets with the hashtags #li or #in in order to cross-post them to your LinkedIn profile, this will no longer be an option.
From LinkedIn 06/29/2012:
"Twitter recently evolved its strategy and this will result in a change to the way Tweets appear in all third-party applications. As of June 29, 2012, Tweets will no longer be displayed on LinkedIn."
"We know that sharing updates from LinkedIn to Twitter is a valuable service for our members, so you will still be able to share updates with your Twitter audience by posting them on LinkedIn. Simply compose your update on LinkedIn, check the box with the Twitter icon, and click "Share." This will automatically push your update to both your LinkedIn connections and your Twitter followers."
There are several ways to share content with your professional network...
After the LinkedIn Hack
Protect your account and be cautious
UPDATE: 6/7/2012: LinkedIn said it is working with the FBI to investigate a cyber attack in which 6.5 million of its users' passwords were stolen. The company told the Los Angeles Times that it is working with the federal agency after announcing on its blog that it was working with law enforcement to find more information about the recent hacking. eHarmony and Last.fm have also confirmed attacks. The aftermath of the breach of LinkedIn may effect more than just your password. A few points to be aware of after the breach of more than 6.5 million accounts on LinkedIn: * If you have not changed your password, do so immediately. It only takes a minute. Use upper and lowercase letters mixed with numbers and characters. The more random the better. See: How to Change Your LinkedIn Password * Do not believe...
Social Media Risk Management
Dell's 10 social media tips when commenting and responding to customers online
We've always admired Dell's well-managed approach to Social Media, and they are gracious in allowing the below infographic to be embedded and shared. For small companies, managing social media interaction may prove taxing and confusing, especially in the event of negative or Brand Detractor information - remember, Brand Detractors may be those who dislike your brand (or you) for whatever reason; disgruntled former employees, former vendors, former customers, negative general review sites, competitors...monitoring is key. As we've discussed, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), regulators, and others have created significant new social media risk requirements. One Federal regulator, The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), has issued a regulatory notic...
Learning with Learni.st - A Great Visual Learning Experience
Social Learning
By Karen Masullo EVP, Social Media for Firestorm Oh those fabulous folks at Grockit. If you're not familiar with Grockit: "Grockit is the social learning company that makes products that help people learn from other people." Grockit makes Test Prep products for the GMAT, SAT, ACT, LSAT, GRE and other university admissions tests. Grockit was founded in 2007 by Farb (Farbood) Nivi, a former Teacher of the Year for The Princeton Review and academic director at Kaplan. "Over 1M people worldwide have used Grockit to successfully prepare for tests. And more people have used Grockit through private network partner deployments for K-12 schools, online universities and virtual schools." Today, it would appear that Mr. Nivi and team gave us Learni.st, and I thank them. Read the official announceme...
Spirit Airlines Gazopt Themselves – and don't appear to care
Social Media Risk Management
UPDATE: 05/4/2012 5:00 PM
Statement From Ben Baldanza, CEO of Spirit Airlines
Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza has issued a statement: "At a time of ever-rising airfares, Spirit Airlines makes commercial air travel affordable for many Americans. A very important part of keeping our airfares reasonably priced is our refund policy. "Every day we seek to balance customer service with customers' demands for the lowest airfare possible. But sometimes we make mistakes. "In my statements regarding Mr. Meekins' request for a refund, I failed to explain why our policy on refunds makes Spirit Airlines the only affordable choice for so many travelers, and I did not demonstrate the respect or the compassion that I should have, given his medical condition and his service to our country. "Therefore I hav...
Firestorm believes that crisis preparedness is predicated on recognition of imminent threats. Our weekly newsletter is an invaluable tool that reports on current conditions and issues, and includes original commentary and analysis from our Expert Council, Senior Leadership, and Guest Contributors. Valuable, insightful commentary analysis each week - and it's FREE! Sign up to receive these critical alerts
Download our Toolbar!
Register for an Event
Firestorm Events
Firestorm presents a variety of topical webinars each month for the business community presented by leading experts in their fields. Our Leadership Team and Expert Council present as Keynote Speakers, Program Presenters, and Panel Members at events across the country. Keep up to date and Join us! View our Upcoming Events...
Read Our Latest Analysis
Firestorm founders Harry Rhulen and Jim Satterfield wrote Disaster Ready People for a Disaster Ready America specifically to address the need for crisis and disaster preparedness at home, and the book has become a cornerstone of many personal and corporate preparedness programs.
Our Address: 1000 Holcomb Woods Parkway Suite 130 Roswell, GA USA 30076
Information
Firestorm® is a national leader in crisis management, vulnerability analysis/threat assessment, and business continuity. Firestorm’s Predict. Plan. Perform.® process leverages next-generation consulting services, tools and software creating resilient organizations. We are the Crisis Coach™ for Crisis Management, Critical Decision Support, Crisis Communications, Crisis Public Relations, and Consequence Management (800) 321-2219
Firestorm Solutions transforms crisis into value, and is a recognized leader in crisis management, critical decision support, crisis communications, crisis public relations, and consequence management. Learn More...
Moore Tornado Resources - How You Can Help
