As family circumstances make it more difficult to be away from home, our focus throughout the past year and in 2012 will be to work on line. Some may see this as a disadvantage but see it as an opportunity. This situation provides an opportunity for myself and an opportunity to help others.

I keep in contact with emergency management and business continuity professionals in the private and public sectors who are continually challenged to do more with fewer resources. As I recall from my career in the oil and chemical industry, this is nothing new, it is an ongoing challenge and it applies to the public, private and not for profit organizations.  If one has responsibility for their organization's crisis and emergency communication and reputation management, their task has become significantly more complex with the emergence of social media. There are new technologies and tools available to help us with these challenges and some use them effectively but many do not. When you are already overworked, the last thing many want to do is to take on something new. Combining this with restrictive out of date technology policies and policies restricting the use of social media and on line networking makes the situation more difficult for some.

Our world is changing around us and to survive and prosper we also need to change. I recent article i read entitled "Why the iPad is the Most Hated Gadget Ever" will help make this point. At first I did not believe the title because Apple's iPad has the major share of the tablet computing market and iPad owners are, in general, very pleased with their iPads. For iPad users, myself included, it has changed the way we do many things in our lives for the better. Computer companies who have tried unsuccessfully to compete with the iPad have been forced to write off millions and in some cases billions of dollars to cover their failed attempts. Vertical market tablet manufacturers who sold special purpose tablets to the aviation, medical and retail markets have seen their markets wiped out by apps developed to run on the cheaper more reliable and versatile iPads. The examples go on and on to include the toy industry and the pc industry, but I hope I have made my point. 

For those who are willing to look at the big picture, who are not constrained by maintaining the status quo and who are willing to consider new ideas, there are opportunities, not only to survive, but to prosper. I challenge you to look at your current situation, to identify your objectives and challenges and consider how making effective use of social media and on line networking may provide some solutions. You are the folks I want to talk with and work with in 2012 to help you find solutions to your current challenges.  My primary focus is to help imrove emergency management and business continuity professionals and programs but the principles that involve using current technologies apply to any organization. 

I look forward to working with some of you in 2012.