Did you feel it? Did your desk shake? Were your windows rattling? On Tuesday an earthquake rattled more than a few desks and nerves through-out the eastern United States and Canada. For some the earthquake was very real with desks moving and buildings shaking. For others, the first they learned of the earthquake was on Twitter and Facebook.

That's right - people were learning of the earthquake on social media before it hit the traditional news media channels of television, radio and the newspaper. Times have certainly changed. It seemed almost immediately the earthquake was a trending topic on Twitter and the hashtag #earthquake was added to every other Tweet.

So what does this mean to you? Disaster communication really has gone social. More and more people from all demographics and locations are hooked into Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr and blogs getting instant updates and notifications sent to their iPhones, iPads, smart phones and android devices.

To truly be in the know, you have to be connected. Connected to your team and connected to the world. When considering how you can use social media at times of crisis, it is really vital that you have a plan and a strategy. Now, not to boast too much bue we'd like to think our jointly hosted webinar with the Disaster Recovery Journal on Wednesday (one day after the earthquake) titled Social Media: What Is Your Strategy? was pretty darn timely.

In this webinar Regina Phelps adn Abbas Haider Ali discussed the importance of having a social media strategy to enable you to react in times of crisis and threat. We won't rehash the entire webinar here, but if you missed, use this link to download and watch the webinar (it's free).

So in the space of two days we have an earthquake that is communicated over social media and we have a webinar about using social media in times of crisis communication. You'd think that would be enough to emphasize how vital and integral social media communication is for business, personal and news communication.

But we can't help but direct your attention to the eastern coast of the United States - yes Hurricane Irene. A quick search of Twitter reveals that the hashtag #Irene has quite literally taken over the social media channel.

Major news outlets from the New York Times to Time magazine and the Weather Channel are tweeting about Irene's progress. Twitter feeds such as the HomeDepot are posting 140 character messages about how to prepare for Hurricane Irene. A quick look at Twitter and Facebook this morning reveals that bottled water is flying off the shelves in New York City, people are cutting their vacations short, airports are being overwhelmed with anxious travellers, and people are filling up their cars with gas. And this doesn't include the videos you'll find on YouTube of images of Hurricane Irene's power.

Convinced yet? Lets face it, there is no hiding from the importance of social media when it comes to crisis and disaster communication. Yes there are even iPhone apps available to help companies communicate during crisis. In fact Apple Inc. announced this week that the new iOS 5 operating system will give users the option of receiving early earthquake alerts on their iPhones. This warning app connects directly into Japan's national earthquake warning system - such a notification can give people seconds or minutes to prepare for an earthquake.

And as we know - sometimes all it takes is a few seconds to make a difference in crisis communications. So in light of the recent news and developments, there really is no excuse to not be connected, prepared, communicating and ready. Don't miss out on this key component of your crisis communication strategy - make social media a part of how you do business and protect your business.

(It is worth reading this article from Fast Company Magazine about the Red Cross position on social media communications during disaster and crisis - another example of how prevalent social media is in our well-being and response abilities.)

Update Post Hurricane Irene

Now that we've all had some time to recover from the effects of Hurricane Irene. Well, most of us - there are lots of you out there with flooded homes, washed out roads and no power... The one thing we've heard a lot about and read about is the poor media coverage. Yes, there was media coverage but rather than really providing us with information on how to be prepared, how to communicate, and what to do in the event of flooding and danger - the mainstream media really gave us hysteria. Televsion news clips, radio reports and newspaper stories telling and showing us the damage and really working up a level of hysteria. This is where social media shone through. Thanks to Twitter and Facebook, people were able to get the real story about what was happening - it was from Twitter that most of us learned that Hurricane Irene had been downgraded to a Tropical Storm and that it was likely to cause less damage than predicted. Using Twitter and Facebook people were able to communicate with one another and get the news out quickly about road closures, dry and safe locations, and to communicate to others that they were safe. While the mainstream media was focused on footage and reports of disaster, social media came to the forefront providing actionable and useful information for those who wanted and needed more than sensational video footage.

There are lots of lessons to be learned from a disaster and threat such as Hurricane Irene. Particularly in terms of communication - consider how you used social media to communicate with your team, friends, and extended network. This was weekend was an excellent example of how vital social media is in communication and helping to ensure that the right message gets out. As this weekend shows - you need a social media strategy. (Do a search on Twitter today for #Irene and you'll see that people are still updating one another.)

A  little over a year ago the town of Marshall, Michigan and the Kalamazoo River got a hard and fast lesson in oil spills and communication. In this blog post we’ll look at how Calgary, Alberta, Canada based Enbridge Liquids Pipeline handled the communication aspect surrounding the July 26, 2010 oil spill.

Here are a few facts about this oil spill:

• State of emergency was declared in Kalamazoo County.
• More than 800,000 gallons of oil were spilled into the Kalamazoo River.
• Largest oil spill in the history of the midwest.
• 65 kilometers of the Kalamazoo River were soaked in oil.

Before this oil spill, the Kalamazoo River was home to numerous wildlife including turtles, fish, muskrats, and Canada geese. As well this river was popular with Marshall residents as a peaceful way to get out on the water in their kayaks and boats.

Now, a little over a year later, the clean-up of the river is largely completed and residents are optimistic that the river habitat can return to its original status. What is interesting about this oil spill is how well the news surrounding it was handled. A search of the Internet shows very little negative news about Enbridge and how it handled one of the largest freshwater oil spills in American history.

This is a true testament to a strong and cohesive communication plan.

Managing Communication

With an oil spill, there really is no way for a company to hide. The mistakes and the oil are there for everyone to see and smell. In the past, companies really haven’t handled similar oil spills well - attempting to shield the media from the damaged sites and even trying to cover-up such environmental disasters.

Well, kudos to Enbridge - they did a good job of managing this oil spill. In fact so well that many of us likely didn’t realize that an oil spill of such a large magnitude had occured.

The keys to success for Enbridge in this matter were consistent communication and controlled messages. Yes, there were initial newspaper reports where citizens were quoted as stating that they really didn’t know what was going on and what would happen to the area.

But, Enbridge officials were quick to get their clean-up staff and public relations officials on site. With honest and open communication - they told the entire story about the spill and on the anniversary of the spill they were obliging to journalists interested in the clean-up progress one year later.

Consistency Prevents Panic

The lessons learned from this oil spill, which could have resulted in a  public relations disaster for Enbridge, include:

• A consistent message must be communicated on all platforms.
• You cannot hide from mistakes - particularly those which result in a disaster.
• Public perception will very much determine how your company is portrayed in the media.
• It is okay to admit your mistakes but do so only when you have a solid plan of action to present.
• Brag - yes - talk about the strides your company has made in recovering from a disaster and how you have worked with the community.

Through-out this entire one-year process, Enbridge has worked with the community of Marshall and environmental agencies to ensure that as much damage as possible was prevented. In addition, Enbridge has purchased a number of homes that were damaged as a result of the oil spill. And for those homeowners who were not happy with the Enbridge settlement, the company reacted proactively with confidentially agreements being signed upon further settlements being reached.

Enbridge is not hiding behind its mistakes and the crack in the pipeline. Rather company officials are quick to tell the media and public about the 3,200 animals that were affected and how the company managed the care of 400 turtles this past winter.

Ultimately, it is the honest approach taken by Enbridge officials that has worked to keep this story largely unreported and from causing mass panic and rumors from breaking out among Marshall citizens and others. Jason Manshum, an Enbridge official, was quoted recently as saying, “We have made a mess in this area, and for residents and businesses in this area. We have been working extremely hard over the last year to clean up.”

Communication Lessons for You

Ultimately, what can you take away from this? Remember that the keys to effective communication in the event of a disaster or threat are:

• Consistency at all times.
• Manage the message across all platforms - newspapers, television, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.
• Honesty is your best policy.
• Follow-up with the media to demonstrate your progress in handling the disaster or threat.
• Work with community members and others to get involved and make sure everyone feels they can have input on how to respond to the situation.

To learn more about how vital a strong communication plan is - with respect to social media, be sure to register for the Social Media - What is Your Strategy webinar on August, 24.