Hacks, slander and sabotage: Responding to online crises

As our daily communication migrates online, crises in these digital domains are becoming increasingly common.

UNSW learnt this the hard way last year when they had an alarming outbreak of scantily-clad women on their Facebook page.

Whilst preventing the crisis in the first place is obviously preferable, it is of the highest priority to respond appropriately should one occur.

Your online crisis response plan should include the following:

1.       Acknowledge

Even if you know nothing about the situation, acknowledge that something has happened. A company which says “We realise an unfortunate event has occurred. We are investigating and will provide you with answers as soon as they are made available” will have a greater chance of retaining your customer loyalty than deafening silence.

2.       Respond

If a crises has emerged on Instagram there is little point responding to it on Twitter. Address the concerns where the conversation is happening.

3.       Create a crisis 411

Pull all relevant information about the incident into one place. Should queries be raised, they will be easily answered by providing the link rather than supplying paragraph-long answers throughout your social networks.

4.       Let it happen- under your control

People will find a means to express themselves when they are dissatisfied so you may as well let it happen under your supervision. By providing a point of release for expressing dissatisfaction you prevent it from happening elsewhere.

5.       Forewarned is forearmed

Your employees are going to be contacted, questioned and possibly confronted. The last thing you need is quotes being circulated from uneducated sources. Prepare them by arming them with all the information they need about the incident to prevent further damage to your reputation.

Don’t miss Akolade’s Social Media for Higher Education Conference coming to Sydney on the 3^rd-5^th May 2017, where knowledgeable industry leaders will share how to drive engagement and organisational growth through social media channels.

Written by: Claire Dowler

Claire Dowler is a Conference Producer with Akolade. She recently graduated with a double degree: a Bachelor of Journalism and a Bachelor of Media and Communications Studies majoring in International Communication. Claire minored in sarcasm and puns.

A ballroom-dancer who collects salt and pepper shakers and volunteers for animal rescue, you might say Claire has eclectic interests.

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Getting rid of the Christmas stuffing

The holiday season is over. While we lie on the sofa, gloomily scanning the room which was sparkling with Christmas decorations just a few days ago, now only left with sad-looking and dusty ornaments, waiting for someone (me) to have the energy to put them away for next year. 

As is the case for many others, the New Year starts with some slight anxiety over those extra kilos gained over the past couple of weeks. The ham was just too delicious to resist, and you just can’t have too many potatoes. It’s only Christmas once and year, so when else am I really allowed to stuff my face with chocolate? And who said one slice of cake was enough? No, I’ve been eating leftover cake for days now. If I walk fast I can feel my belly wobbling slightly.

Though this isn’t really the end of the world, many, including myself, are becoming increasingly lazy. Eating makes me feel good. And there’s never really a day when exercising feels like the right thing to do. “There’s always tomorrow,” I tell myself.

But I know this is bad for my health. Not exercising comes with a myriad of risks to the body, such as coronary heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure, breathlessness just to name a few.

A recent study compared lack of exercise to smoking and estimated that lack of exercise is responsible for one in 10 cases of heart disease and one in five cases of colon cancer.

Of the 57 million worldwide deaths in 2008, it’s estimated that physical inactivity caused more than 5.3 million. Inactivity is a major public health issue.

Current World Health Organisation recommends at least 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity throughout the week, or at least 75 minutes of high- intensity activity. You aren’t confined to the gym to achieve this; physical activity can include:

·         Walking or cycling

·         Household chores

·         Playing games and sports

·         Dancing

While my Christmas belly may seem like a purely superficial problem, it could have long term ramifications on my health if I don’t start moving. So I’d better put away these Christmas decorations.

Written by: Mimmie Wilhelmson

Mimmie grew up in Sweden and first came to Australia as a backpacker after high school. After travelling around the country for two years she returned to Europe and pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism in London. But the longing for Australia and the sun became too strong. After having worked for some time in the media industry, Mimmie decided to make a change and swap the news for conferences. She now gets to do what she loves the most, meeting new people and keep learning about cultures and issues while producing conferences on current topics.

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