Has social media changed strategic-level crisis response? Part Two

By Dominic Cockram 

Part 2 – Yes

After reading Sarah’s response to this question earlier this week, I have to disagree with her conclusions. I think that social media has changed many aspects of a strategic-level response.  However, there are many layers of complexity to this and it is never as straightforward as it seems.

Firstly, it depends on your brand and business.  If you are in retail and fashion then there is a huge shift in the way the strategic team now responds when driven by a social media storm.  Firstly they feel they now need to get decisions out there quickly and show action taking place, they are now listening to what they hear (or they should be) from their detractors and their supporters and using that information to drive and inform their decisions in many cases.  For them, crisis response has undergone a significant change as a direct consequence of social media.

Cyber Security and the 2012 Olympics

With just one week to go until the Opening Ceremony, London is buzzing! The summer Olympics in London offer an incredible opportunity for athletes, spectators and whole nations to come together in celebration of sporting achievement. Unfortunately, the London 2012 Games will also offer a unique opportunity for criminals to defraud large numbers of people. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, it was reported that China suffered 12 million online attacks per day, and officials at this summer’s London Olympics have already reported 124 known scams that have targeted millions of consumers. In the past four months, fraudulent activity targeting smartphones has increased by 800% in the UK, which has been linked to the fast-approaching Olympic Games. Smartphones offer a new, easily targeted and particularly vulnerable chink in the armour of cyber security.