The Web and Crisis Communications

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The Web and Crisis Communications

• Michael Dame
• Director of Web Communications
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
  University

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About myself

• At Virginia Tech since November 2005
• Previously served in myriad roles developing and
  managing Tribune Co. websites for 8 years
• Crises during my tenure managing
  OrlandoSentinel.com
• Hurricane season of 2004 (3 storms hit Orlando)
• Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003
• 9/11 tragedy and aftermath in 2001
• Central Florida tornadoes of 1998 (42 dead, 260
  injured)
• 10 years experience as a newspaper reporter
• Contributed to coverage of 1990 Gainesville/UF
  murders
• Primary reporter of NCAA investigation of UF in
  1989-90

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About Virginia Tech

• Founded in 1872 as a land-grant college
• Now a comprehensive research university with
  largest number of degree offerings in Virginia
• Total enrollment of more than 28,000 from all 50
  states and more than 100 countries
• More than 190,000 living alumni
• University motto Ut Prosim (That I May Serve)

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After this session, you will

• Be better prepared for working in crisis mode for
  an extended period
• Further appreciate the power of the Web to
  advance your communication goals even during
  times of extreme crisis
• Walk away armed with new ideas for your own
  crisis communications plan
• Be just a little freaked out (but thats OK!)

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Recap of the tragedy

• Monday, April 16 In separate events, a student
  killed 32 and injured 25 before taking own life
• Worst mass shooting in U.S. history
• Classes canceled for one week Blacksburg campus
  closed for two days
• During the week of the shootings, some 715 media
  members, 280 news organizations (80
  international), and 140 satellite trucks
  descended on Blacksburg

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How it started on 4/16

• 958 a.m.Alert posted to home page.Th
  e alert reads Emergency. Gunman on Campus, Stay
  Indoors and Away from Windows. See details.

• 926 a.m.Blast e-mail with subject Shooting on
  campus sent, informing campus community of the
  shooting incident at West Ambler Johnston Hall
  (AJ).
• 931 a.m.Alert posted to home page regarding the
  AJ shooting incident.
• 944 a.m.Web staff overhears chatter on police
  scanner about gunshots at Norris Hall. Phone call
  placed to IT Webhosting alerting them to need for
  enhanced server support. I cancel our 10 a.m.
  WebComm staff meeting and call for shift to
  crisis mode.

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Goals for day of tragedy

• Communicate essential information
• Home page all about brevity and clarity click to
  inside page for more details
• Navigation reduced to pertinent sections About
  Virginia Tech, Administration, Campus Maps,
  Campus Buildings
• Expand server load balancing for VT.edu
• Establish communication workflows with Joint
  Information Center (JIC)

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How it continued on 4/16

• 1240 p.m.Right after our first news conference,
  a podcast of Dr. Stegers statement is posted,
  along with notice of cancellation of all events.
  Note our lite home page layout.
• 233 p.m.IT Webhosting brings third server
  online to support VT.edu.

• 959 a.m.Began preparing our lite home page to
  move to production.
• 1003 a.m.Began pulling Flash elements and
  graphics from home page.
• 1017 a.m.Lite home page launched with new
  alert All Classes Cancelled Stay where you
  are.
• 1033 a.m.Shut down VT News database to reduce
  load alert details page moved to VT.edu
  domain.
• 1044 a.m.IT Webhosting brings second server
  online to support VT.edu.

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Normal home page before 4/16
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Lite home page on 4/16
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Where we were
Norris Hall
Media Bldg
approximately 1.5 miles
JIC
West AJ
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Joint Information Center
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WebComm Central (a.k.a. my office)
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Communication workflow

• Decision was made for WebComm team to maintain
  base in Media Building
• Campus PIOs were assigned to beats, such as
• Info about victims and the status of releasing
  names
• Statements by university and law enforcement
  officials
• Updates about counseling resources
• PIOs would e-mail and call in real time when new
  information needed to be released
• Radio crew recorded all conferences, returned to
  Media Building to edit MP3s online quickly
• Newest update was posted at top of the details
  page in blog-like fashion

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Details page 4/16 late afternoon
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Dealing with distractions

• So many calls and e-mails from family and
  friends, so little (or no) time to talk
• Inundated with calls/emails from vendors offering
  free services and opinions
• Requests from former media colleagues in Florida
  who wanted to localize the story by
  interviewing me
• My office has only TV on floor, so it became the
  viewing site for press conferences

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Late 4/16 / early 4/17 strategizing

• Connected with Larry Hincker regarding design and
  content ideas for VT.edu
• Held a WebComm team huddle early morning 4/17 to
  plan the next 24-48 hours
• As much spirit rally as planning session
• Checked in on personal and family situations
• Mapped out new website architecture on whiteboard
• Discussed hardware/software/server needs
• Set deadline to launch new In Memoriam design
  for home page by 2 p.m. Convocation

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Other things we decided

• Think multimedia think Web 2.0
• Put students and families first in all decisions
• Choose words carefully to aid healing
• Find ways to engage the community
• Create condolences/thoughts/prayers website
• Post messages from other universities
• Set up live video streaming for Convocation
• Relocate webcam to stream Candlelight Vigil
• Suspend VT News daily e-mail

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Home page around noon, 4/17
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v1.0 of In Memoriam design
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Virtual participation in our grieving
35,000 entries in 72 hours
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v2.0 of In Memoriam

• Launched 4/18
• During Convocation, Dr. Nikki Giovanni provided
  exactly what we needed in a poem words around
  which to build our messages to the world
• We Are the Hokies
• We Are Virginia Tech
• We Will Prevail

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v3.0 of In Memoriam

• The university began releasing names on 4/19,
  which we had to display prominently on the home
  page
• Very moving and poignant photos were coming in
  from our photo team

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Photo galleries quickly assembled
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A humongous traffic spike
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that tested our IT infrastructure
We transferred 432GB of data on April 16(Normal
day 15 GB)Only two months in 2006 eclipsed
that figure
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April 16 traffic summary
Trend over time March-May 2007
Is your IT infrastructure prepared for a spike
like this?
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Transitioning to normalcy

• The situation
• Classes set to resume Monday, April 23
• Tragedy still an open wound on campus
• Strong desire to begin recovery
• University needed to provide source of strength,
  leadership, resolve
• Determined not to let Virginia Tech be defined by
  this tragic event

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Questions to ask yourself

• Is timing right to return to a more normal
  state, or should we stay black?
• How do we continue to honor those lost?
• How can the website be a catalyst for healing and
  recovery?
• What will the victims families think?
• How should we present normal content?

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Our decision

• Use the VT.edu home page to symbolize
• The beginning of healing
• Remembrance of our fallen Hokies
• Rebirth, by using springtime photos
• Determination to continue inventing the future
• And that meant coming up with yet another home
  page design that blended normal with in
  memoriam

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An overwhelming response

• Thank you for making a most amazing homepage
  for Virginia Tech as it works through this
  crisis. I have been extremely impressed by the
  beauty, the professionalism, and yes, the
  accessibility.
• You have created the dignified web presence
  everyone needs and in an amazingly short time.
• I sit here crying..... and am AMAZED at how
  well you are maintaining VT's main website.
• I am an alumnus and prior to April 16 I only
  checked the website on rare occasions. This
  horror has affected me deeply and I find myself
  drawn to the website every day, just to
  reconnect.

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more responses

• I'm sure you know how many eyes have been on
  the website in the last 10 days, and I just
  wanted to pass along my compliments. At all
  times, the page has been tasteful, informative,
  and even uplifting. Your current mode of
  transitioning back into "normal" is just
  outstanding - it's a visual representation to
  those of us away from campus that we as a
  university are moving forward while taking time
  to grieve.
• Today as I opened the Virginia Tech web page I
  saw the white background with the picture of the
  students walking in front of the spring tree.
  Wow! That said so much! Go Hokies!

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and my favorite response

• Thank you for the constant updates to the
  Virginia Tech website during the past week. For
  many of us with loved ones on campus, it has been
  a source of untainted, reliable information about
  the events and the plans to move forward. The
  site is professional of course but is clearly a
  reflection of someone that cares deeply about VT
  and the students and faculty there.

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Lessons learned (and reinforced)

• Surround yourself with people who care
• Put students and their families first always,
  with faculty and staff right behind
• Provide multiple options for accessing news and
  information (text, audio, video, photos)
• Keep it simple Dont overdo it Let the facts
  and your audience tell the story
• If resources allow, place someone at your JIC

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How to get started

• If you arent joined at the hip with your IT
  team, schedule surgery now.
• Define crisis communication scenarios and match
  each with available communication tools.
• Develop a lite version of your home page.
• Define roles and responsibilities in advance.
• Conduct regularly scheduled fire drills.
• Ensure that politics can be left behind during
  crisis.
• Plan for family matters kids, pets, etc.
• Surround yourself with cool, calm, collected
  doers.
• Expect to get very little sleep.
• Dont forget about you.

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New service VT Alerts

• Launched July 1 in development since August 2006
• More than 18,300 subscribers to date
• Offers several new communication vehicles
• Text messaging (SMS)
• Phone calls (mobile, residence, office, other)
• Instant messaging (AOL, MSN, Yahoo)
• E-mail to non-VT addresses
• Supplements established communication methods
• Broadcast e-mail to all students, faculty, and
  staff
• Virginia Tech homepage (www.vt.edu)
• Weather/emergency hotline [phone])
• Campus sirens and loudspeakers
• University switchboard
• Coordinated use of public media outlets

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VT Alerts interface
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Home page alert - sample
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Our revamped lite home page
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Thank You!
Id be happy to take your questions

• Mike Dame
• Director of Web Communications
• Virginia Tech
• [phone] mdame_at_vt.edu