As Connecticut burrows it’s way out of the freakiest October snowstorm on record, I’m left with buckets of Halloween candy from the cancelled holiday, a renewed appreciation for those gaudy purple wool socks gifted to me by mom a few years back, and new insights into the value of social media in a crisis. 
At a time when over 800,000 people in the state lost power, heat, hot water, phone service, and passable roads for an extended time (6 nights in my case), some local public servants stood out for their adeptness in communicating with their constituents using social media, when news was needed in real time as the crisis unfolded.
Email just didn’t cut it, people. Nor did the 6 o’clock news. Nor did the stumbling twice-daily storm updates by the C, L & P President.
More than a few tech-savvy local officials jumped into the fray with their own blizzard of useful updates; here are three who tweeted and/or posted on Facebook with concrete, as-it-happens updates to constituents who were desperate for information, and –perhaps more importantly–desperate to be heard. Here’s a sampling of how they messaged in the midst of the mess:
Luis Cotto (Hartford City Councilperson):
Beth Bye (State Senator–Bloomfield, Burlington, Farmington, West Hartford):
Matt Lesser (State Representative–Durham, Middlefield, Middletown)
These 3 “get” social media. They are listening, responding, and sharing useful information quickly with links and timely resources.
The bottom line: Social media is
- extremely effective for getting feedback and starting discussions.
- an excellent way to share information in real time (especially through Twitter).
- a terrific tool for sharing links and resources
- a way to listen to one’s community and respond
- a news dump (read: don’t post an endless stream of press releases).
- where a staffer should ghost-write posts for the CEO or public official.
- a reiteration of talking points, rather than conversation
- a monologue
- primarily a fundraising tool
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As an employee of a non-profit, I’m hopeful my organization learned not to announce the closing of our office (first time in my 9 years here ) only on the local news. The power was out……….