I have been working for more than 3 years with willing, aware, thoughtful clients. Clients who have hired me to make a difference and who enjoy working with me. While I have been able to help some put a toe in the water in using social software, only the non corporate start ups have really gone the distance like my friends at UFIT. Others, like KETC, have made good initial progress outside the organization – a bit of blogging – a Facebook site – some YouTube video. Some like NPR have a well developed idea of what confronts them. Many like the PEI BioAlliance know that building community is key.

But I have not found the way to help them adopt these principles inside their organizations.

I have not found the language to describe its use that means much to a person who has never used it. I wonder then if the recent crises that have been so well reported and acted upon may be a more helpful way of showing the value of the unkown.

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Here is how Cheltenham Council has been helping everyone cope with the flood.

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Here is how the BBC Berkshire has been using Google Maps to empower its listeners to add pictures of what is happening at the hyper local level

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Here is how Luis Suarez has been blogging and linking to other bloggers to offer a complete picture of the terrible fires on Gran Canaria. He has also provided a minute by minute Twitter update here as well.

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Here is how the city of Minneapolis is dealing with the collapse of the bridge.

The value of using social software to cope with a crisis was first really seen with the Tsunami Blog – that was having over a million visits aday at its peak. This was the most reliable source for weeks after the event. I had lost my own daughter for a week – she turned up in Laos instead of her planned stay on an Island that was washed away – and I was a frequent visitor.

Is this not evidence enough that groups of people can come together and do excellent work really quickly by using this tool kit? No organization that does not use it can come close.

Would it not be possible to even start inside your organization with a crisis team – shit happens every week – a major system goes down, tainted food gets inside your restaurant chain – you have a crash project to do – whatever.

Those who do will excel – so what is your excuse?