Online Public Relations Thoughts

The new community relations during disasters are high-tech. Note in this story the application of databases to help people find others. Then there is geo-tagging text messaging and data mapping to help people locate where things are. A PR practitioner might not think of an IT department as a first place to contact when things go awry, but there is good reason to do so, especially in large-scale disasters such as Haiti. Start by taking an inventory of applications that could be used and add these to your crisis planning. Understand that IT will scramble to make sure its systems are up before it can launch aid to the community, but once it is secure, it can contribute time and talent to help sort things out and establish control.