Author: Jim

Those who know me know that I enjoy Twitter. I’ve been both lauded and ridiculed for how much time I spend on the social network. My reach (how many people I can “talk” to) is much wider than it would’ve been without Twitter. And I’m just a small fish.

There are big fish, though. And not just Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber either, according to this recent article in the Times. Apparently, the real Twitter superstars are a number of evangelical Christian leaders whose messages (by percentage usually and sometimes gross number) are retweeted and spread more than any of those folks that regularly show up in the tabloids.

Consider this post in April from Bishop T. D. Jakes: “Your words will tell others what you think. Your actions will tell them what you believe.”

His message was forwarded 2,490 times — just shy of the 2,491 retweets that the pop singer Katy Perry generated the same month with this message to her fans: “Sometimes jet lag makes me feel like a cross eyed crack head #muststayawake.”

Both messages performed remarkably well. But there was a key difference: Bishop Jakes has 450,000 followers, while Ms. Perry has 20 million.

What does this mean for emergency public information? Well, there’s a big push to reach folks that do not consume traditional media, and place their trust in other, ahem, higher authorities. Doesn’t it behoove us, even if we can’t use social media, to engage with these connected pastors? And these are just the national folks, would you be surprised if there was a religious leader in your community who could act as a bullhorn (or force-multiplier, or trusted agent distributor) for your message, including on social media?

Here’s a fun story from the annals. You think the media swarms you during a crisis today? Imagine what it was like during the original disaster, after the sinking of the Titanic.

The whole thing is amazing, and here’s the key graf on the plan for once the Carpathia docked:

Here were the elements of Van Anda’s plan:

• Pay for a whole floor in a hotel near where the ship would come into port.
• Install four telephones at the hotel connected to Times rewrite desk.
• Send 16 reporters to the pier with only four passes. Reporters without passes would work the docks, getting as close to survivors as possible.
• Assign the main stories to the four reporters with passes.
• Instruct reporters to rush to the hotel for debriefing by rewrite men, and re-assignment.

It’s an extremely interesting read on a story that can give us insight into what’s considered “the ultimate in disaster news coverage.”

I often forget how much of a greenhorn in public information I am. Last week I posted on conducting media management using social media and one of my favorite crisis communications heroes left a comment that reminded me of it. (In the nicest possible way, of course.)

Whenever I feel like a newbie, I head back to these posts by Denise Graveline, of the Don’t Get Caught blog. She’s now had two posts geared towards new communicators as they start in the business, and I love them. I wish I could contribute something, but honestly, I continue to find myself on the learning side of that equation.

Some of the best are as follows:

• Ask for–or go get–training and development on a regular basis.
• Don’t get sucked into the cubicle.
• Be bold.
• Decide what you don’t need to learn.

Be sure to check out the posts: For the Rookie Public Information Officer, and Advice for the Rising Communicator, and please leave your best tips (consider they’re for me too!) in the comments.