Man-373 Assignment 10

INTRODUCTION

The internet has truly revolutionized the way in which we receive information and the speed at which we obtain it. With the internet being so widely adopted, companies now have to monitor and react to crisis situations at a much more rapid rate than ever before. Situations can arise and spread very rapidly so companies must be prepared for this. Over the next five years the internet will most likely be even faster than it currently is and much more accessible than ever before. This presents a greater problem to the companies of today who will need to adapt to this new environment as it evolves.

CURRENT CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT

Even though the ultimate goal of crisis communications management has remained the same over the years, the ways in which a crisis can present itself and the impact it can have are more dangerous to a company than ever before. With the internet, a crisis can start as a tiny flame but rather quickly grow to the size of a wildfire. News travels incredibly fast through the internet and if a company does not have a solid plan in place they can be consumed by a crisis in a frighteningly short period of time. In years past, mass media determined what news was deemed worthy for their audiences. With the internet, an individual can determine what it is they would like to know and can even publish news of their own with incredible ease. This information is incredibly easy to access with increasingly more powerful mobile devices and growing social networks that can take a news story and spread it to millions in the blink of an eye. The information on the internet is also relatively unfiltered unlike it was in the past in other mass media sources. This means that a story that is not credible can spread and do incredible damage. It is for these reasons that the internet has had an incredible impact on the way companies handle crisis communications management.  (Gonzalez-Herrero, 2010)

THE INTERNET IN FIVE YEARS

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