Warhol Moment in Real-Time Media

Cannot stress enough the drop everything and read this aspect of Matthew Ingram's assessment of what are the rules now that anyone can publish the news. Along with the Bin Laden real-time info and Weiner-gate, Ingram brings us a potential rape case.

Read through it all, then come back and consider these items for your own communications plans:

-- For emergency services, what if the public is giving the public incorrect or dangerous information.

-- For institutions, how will you manage a media that has no central control point, or any assets to risk.

-- For individuals, what will be the increased chance of SLAPP and other liabilities as the power to Tweet gets misused.

I think of the recent events where police rolled on a house based on the accusation of an individual that there were dead bodies, and in particular children, in a mass grave. What if that psychic didn't just call police, but instead used a real-time social media to send it out?

Pranksters and revenge artists can use the same tools with impunity. Ingram considers that, but again, have you reviewed your institution's communications plans -- particularly emergency communications -- to be ready for use of (and for the institution to make use of as well) social media?