Comments on: Blogging a crisis: reflecting on some lessons learned

By: Steve Bridger

Steve Bridger — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 11:27:23 +0000

Glad you liked it, Steve. Thank you.

By: Steve Andrews

Steve Andrews — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 10:54:10 +0000

Fabulous article, Steve. I had no idea you did this. Thanks for sharing.

By: Things I’ve spotted October 24th from 22:45 to 23:23 | Podnosh

Things I’ve spotted October 24th from 22:45 to 23:23 | Podnosh — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 23:58:52 +0000

[...] Steve Bridger › Blogging a crisis: reflecting on some lessons learned – Steve Bridger writes a very fine post on his After Wilma blog, sharing with us why getting the story told is very important in times of crisis. He quotes Dan Gilmour: “Tell the truth. Tell it quickly. Tell as much as you can. People crave a genuine, human voice in times of crisis.” [...]

By: CancunCanuck

CancunCanuck — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:48:23 +0000

Hi Steve,
Thought I would share here what 140 can’t do on twitter. The months after Wilma were some of the most challenging times of my life. Your work with afterwilma was greatly appreciated. Talking about Wilma now is almost like therapy for those of us that live here, it was a very traumatic and dramatic time. We witnessed the best and the worst of people, but in the end I am left with a strong sense of community, pride in the people of Cancun for pulling the city up so quickly and the strength to know that I personally can survive just about anything.

We did start a group hurricane blog after Wilma, thankfully we have not put it to good use. We’ve only had some brushes with storms over the last four years, and I hope it stays that way for some time tc come.

In speaking of social media, I was joking with my husband that I had better get a Blackberry or something to be able to tweet during a hurricane! No electricity, no computer, thus I really need that new toy.

Thanks for the flashback post.

By: Ron Mader

Ron Mader — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:03:15 +0000

Thank you, Steve, for sharing these insights.

Visiting Cancun this very week, I am struck by the damage that is still visible. When afterwilma debuted, I like many others felt an affinity to the people afflicted by the hurricane. Like you, I thought there was that the window of opportunity was blown open by the storm and that perhaps we’d hear the story first-hand from municipal, state and federal authorities.

The blog coincided with the rise of social media, showing how Flickr could truly be used in a collective manner. The photos were awesome and told a powerful story of crisis and recovery. But I wonder if the blog format itself worked. Would you have had better participation from authorities if it had been a wiki? (I think the answer is no, but I still want to ask that as a question.)

It’s terribly frustrating being passionate about a place without the opportunity to engage in an engaging dialogue. Tourism officials continue to use the megaphone (whether it’s an actual megaphone or twitter) where what we crave is truly the human voice.

Kudos to you and your family for allowing you to invest such time and heart. I empathize with your mothballing Mexico and consider that a possible option of my own.

Ron