At the IABC conference last year we heard Bill Marriott opine on the value of a blog, and how he does it. I called it a ‘cool way to tell stories.’
But I have to say that the storytelling function of the blog only scratches the surface of the value of social media. What’s happening is not just the communicating but the connecting.
“Who says the Internet is only for young people?” That’s the provocative statement made by the Red Cross.
“At age 126, the American Red Cross loves the Internet … is becoming a leader in adopting social media.”
It’s using Twitter to get information out fast, such as publishing links to a shelter or evacuation area during a fire or storm. People need to connect to organizations like the Red Cross because that’s often the first –if not only- way to get important information at that time.
Just last month we saw how PSNH (Public Service of New Hampshire) turned to multiple new media channels from Twitter and Flickr to YouTube to keep in touch with its customers.
And how old is PSNH? It was born a year before the first transatlantic telephone call was made between New York and London! So don’t let anyone in your organization tell you you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
I have to admit I have been avoiding entering for an IABC
Experiments in communication take off when they create ‘social capital’ rather than take that “big bang” approach, says Clay Shirky. He discussed this and more in an 
“Resuscitating a dead guy — particularly one whose yearning for peace has been used to sell everything from 
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