Skype and Crisis Communications 2.0
I ran into Brian Solis over the weekend and we talked, naturally, about the Skype outage. Brian is an active PR2.0 blogger, and he's been on a roll lately.
Crisis Communications 2.0 hosted by Phil Wolff.
Chat about what's on your mind. More about public chats.
Brian coined Crisis Communications 2.0 for the new expectations and opportunities when responding to disasters. (His post was only triggered by the Skype outage; the ideas are all Brian's.) Brian writes:
Skype may have indeed benefited from Social Media and the incredibly powerful community tools available to companies today. But what’s most important though, is that the entire socially-focused process would most certainly have forced Skype to adopt a different, more human, tone, platform, and position for how it communicated with the people actively following the story.
All I’m trying to point out is that there are new tools and new “voices” required to instill confidence and support within the community. It doesn’t take away, that you still need to be smart and sincere about how you use them.
Let me invite you to join the conversation. Blog about it (tag "crisis+communications") or join the Crisis Communications 2.0 public chat. What assumptions in textbook crisis communication have changed? What are the new assumptions and best practices? What role do tools like Skype play?
What can we learn from Skype's response to this outage? What did their messages reveal about the company, its values, its identity and brand?
I asked if Skype was ready for its Bhopal moment in February. This was far from that bad: nobody was injured or died, wars were not instigated, children are not weeping in their mother's bloody arms. So this is far from that, but a great dress rehearsal.
Quoting myself...
A Google marketing executive woke up to really bad news in January 2007: terrorists used Google Earth to target a bomb, killing British soldiers. Evildoers using your service is a tough headline.
Some day Skypers will watch a YouTube video of a horrific crime committed using Skype.
- A kidnapper calls in a ransom.
- Conspirators coordinate attacks.
- An orphanage burns down because emergency dispatchers couldn't understand a Skype Out call.
- Terrorists force hostages to play backgammon.
eBay's been through this kind of thing. The next time someone tries to sell a body part or a nuclear trigger, you can watch eBay (1) look hard at the new facts then (2) respond quickly. Most of their challenges have been the kinds you'd expect. Some, like the December explosion on the eBay campus, you don't.
Is Skype ready for a strong defense told with humility, compassion, and conviction? Which talking points will best make Skype's case? Will Skype just defend their business (the "it's not our fault when customers cross the line"), or are they prepared to argue for the liberties of their hundreds of millions of Skypers? Should Skype embrace a rhetoric of free speech and privacy rights, and back it up with action?
We know any large population has some people who will do bad things. Same goes for Skype's growing network. I worry, just a little, that in the hurry to respond, Skype could miss an opportunity to define itself as more than a phone company. Skype can align itself with rich, culture-spanning values.
AIESEC is a student run organization that runs a college student work exchange program. But at its core is the belief that helping young business people live and work and make friends in another country changes them. And that those changes can prevent wars. I encourage you to find and support a local chapter near you, They have a mission above and beyond their operations. A cause.
I won't pretend to know or understand Skype's or eBay's beliefs beyond those driven by commerce. But Skype is becoming more important in the world. Millions of netizens the world over bring Skype into their daily lives. And Skype, a private network, is changing our idea of what it means to stay in touch with someone, to make friends, to make a call.
The more Skype touches us, changes our lives, the more Skype has duties:
- To discover what this means to our humanity
- To master the articulation of that meaning
- To advocate for the values reflected within.
Values endure. As we debate Skype's brand and rate structure, let's remember that "values" are more than money. They fuel our allegiances, our actions, our choices. They frame our personal identity. They define how we think about companies and products.
Somewhere in here is an agenda item or two; for whom? I don't know. And this plainly applies to companies other than Skype.
Have a great weekend.
skype
Comments
Johnson & Johnson set the bar 25 years ago with its response to the poisoned Tylenol tablets. Without pointing fingers or letting it slide by, they recalled every bottle of medicine on the shelf. Its Crisis Communications 101 and what better way to learn, than the mistakes and triumphs from the past. Simply put, acknowledge responsibility and it’s OK to just say “we don’t know.” Then sort out the problem, correct it ASAP and put safeguards in place to prevent something similar from happening down the road.
Ford did a terrible job a few years back getting in a back-and-forth finger pointing game with tire manufacturers over SUV rollovers and death caused by blowouts. It didn’t matter what tire was on it, the end result was a Ford rolling over and causing serious harm and even deaths. In my opinion, the company has never recovered from this.
Look, bad things happen to great people and great products, its how we react as communicators and realize this is when the human aspect of our jobs must come into play.
With Skype, it was a guessing game…all the pundits coming up with reasons and causes, often just spreading rumors. Whether it’s the loss of the ability to communicate via IM or VoIP, or actual physical harm caused through the use of the product or service, we must remember we are dealing with humans, inquisitive homosapiens with feelings and needs. Without acknowledgment and well-communicated resolutions…we are left hanging making our own (often wrong and negative) rationalization of the situation.
Prepare for a crisis by developing a first response team, appoint a central spokesperson and keep the information flowing freely. Have a rough plan and adapt it to the need of the situation. Hindsight is always 20/20 so prepare now and hope you never need it.
Posted by: Brian Blank | August 21, 2007 01:56 PM
That's Ok, regarding all potential threats about Skype. I respect You and Your's consciousness very much. But one moment is very important too - as You know - the knife is the instrument for both - for slice of bread, or for injuring. It depends on what sort of human You are...best regards,
Posted by: nijole | August 22, 2007 10:57 PM