Charlotte Snow Storm Illuminates Twitter Benefits

"Winter Storm '09," as the latest winter weather system was so simplistically named, dumped half a foot or more of rain, sleet and snow on much of the Charlotte area Sunday night. Typical of the below-freezing fallout in this part of the country, people freaked. Rightfully so in some instances: Duke Energy reported as many as 185,000 power outages in NC Monday.

Information and communication are critical in times of emergency, be it weather related or otherwise. We need to know the facts; the when, where, how much, what the $%&* is going on, and everything else. Social media like Twitter are ideal platforms for real-time communication with customers, friends, media, businesses, government, etc. Some organizations are participating, some haven't caught on yet.

That said, here are 10 Charlotte area "Emergency Tweeps" to follow, because you just never know...

• Duke Energy Storm updates - @DukeEnergyStorm
  
• Fox Charlotte - @FOXCharlotte
• Charlotte Weather - @cltweather
• The Charlotte Observer - @theobserver
• The Weather Channel - @TWCi
• Charlotte Traffic - @cltraffic
• News14 Weather - @CharlotteWX
  
• WCNC News - @WCNC
• US Airways - @USAirways (not using this medium to the max)
• Lowe's Home Improvement - @Lowes (another good one that could provide more updates: Winter weather tips, sold-out items, generator supply/prices, etc.)

• And one more to really keep in mind in a few months: The National Hurricane Center - @NHC_NOAA

If you're like me, you're wondering why these folks below AREN'T on Twitter. Listen up list, you have followers in waiting, get a move on!

• Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (and other area systems)
  
• Charter Communications
• NC Department of Transportation
  
• Charlotte-Douglas International Airport
• City of Charlotte

I may have missed a few, or maybe these organizations are on Twitter and I overlooked them. Hey, I'm human :) What other organizations would be ideal on Twitter during an emergency? Leave a comment with suggestions or corrections and I'll add to/republish a list of emergency-related groups in the Charlotte area that are/need to be on Twitter.

The more inclusive a list we can develop, the better off we'll all be! Stay in touch, stay warm, and most of all, stay informed!

PRSA Charlotte Hosts Peter Shankman

Kudos to the Charlotte social media scene for showing up in numbers at PRSA Charlotte's luncheon with Peter Shankman today.

Shankman, founder of The Geek Factory and the famous (at least in PR circles) and free Help a Reporter Out (HARO) service, gave a fun and informative presentation on the past, present and future of social media and communications.

In case you missed it, here are some key summary points from my copious notes:

• "Viral" marketing is when something is good enough for others to trust and share.
  
• Talk to your audiences! Don't waste opportunities to become a resource.
• Newspapers are NOT dying; condensing and evolving perhaps, but not dying...
• ...thus we all must work to make information available to our audiences when and how they wish to receive it and provide what they're interested in. Be relevant.
  
• Privacy as we know it is dead - get used to the fact that everything I, you, we do is on the record.
• Refer to Mashable's Top 20 Social Networks and register now (even if you don't use them, claim your spot/name). Check out 12seconds as well - next "big one."

Four keys to being a successful business communicator today:

• Transparency - as it sounds, tell your clients, investors, employees, etc. what's going on!
  
• Relevance - Research, research, research! Tell people things they're interested in/report on.
  
• Brevity - max 5 lines w/ no attachment in media emails.
  
• Top of Mind Presence - it's good to say "Hello" sometimes without an ulterior motive.
  

My experience today also confirmed that a) Large amounts of the PR/communication field in Charlotte are using Twitter, and b) Those that aren't using Twitter likely should. Twitter certainly isn't for all businesses or individuals, but from a personal networking and trust/brand building perspective, Twitter = Priceless.

Finally, some resourceful contacts on Twitter from today:

• @PRSACharlotte (Charlotte chapter) and @brandonuttley
  
• @lisahoffman
  
• @jakrose
  
• @fredsexton
• @scotthepburn
• @philiptater (Philip Tate)
• @tjustinmoore (Had to do it...)
• @skydiver (Peter Shankman)

P.S. I shamelessly "borrowed" PRSA Charlotte's logo above. It fit the bill and I included it in my footnotes :)

"Our best thoughts come from others." ~ Emerson

Online Social Networking in Charlotte

If I had a dollar for every hour I've spent engaged in online social networking endeavors, well, I'd no longer need to worry about social networking. Alas, the big picture, or in this case a smaller picture, has appeared before me...

Twitter, LinkedIn, Guru, Facebook and similar social media sites have been my primary focus of online networking. This is not a bad thing. You, me, we all want and need visibility on these sites for various reasons, but I had overlooked vast and valuable local social networking opportunities in Charlotte and the surrounding areas.

As a result, I've transitioned my efforts towards local online networking groups the past couple of weeks. Yes, the light bulb came on a little late (should be using CFL's!), but it's burning bright now.

A sampling of good social networking sites in the Charlotte area:

• Charlotte Online
  
• Social Media Charlotte
• Pitch Engine (more of a social media PR service, but it's well worth a look)
  
• Social Media Club Charlotte
  
• PRSA Charlotte

Some great Charlotte area public relations professionals and social media gurus on Twitter:

• Jason Kintzler @pitchengine
• Harry Hoover @MyCreativeTeam
• Buck Lawrimore @bucklawrimore
  
• Charlotte Observer @theobserver
  
• Lisa Hoffman @lisahoffman
  
• Brandon Uttley @brandonuttley
• Justin Moore (me!) @tjustinmoore
  

My Creative Team has a great list of Twittering journalists from around the globe.

Cheers and congrats to the fine folks in the Charlotte area who help the public relations, marketing, communications and general social media family grow on a daily basis!