At its root, communication is about having something in common

Communication World, Dec, 2001 by Sheri Rosen

When we're ready to really talk about it, communicators in America and global companies in particular will find that the way we worked on Sept. 11 and the days that have followed provides a common hood.

Where Were You?

For years to come, as we gather to share stories about our successes and challenges, the terrorist attacks of 2001 will be a benchmark.

Every communicator has a story to tell. We wrote updates for customers and employees and the media. We created charts and lists and maps. We ordered stock photos and footage--as hard as they were to look at again. We helped executives with speeches and letters. We connected with community and charity organizations. We tested crisis communication plans and rewrote them on the fly. We tried to figure our how to explain financial markets.

We went home exhausted. Some of us went home and cried. A few of us went home alone.

Sympathy, security and safety--we told these stories over and over again. Time turned somersaults around us. Days dragged on, yet we were working at Internet speed.

High Tech, High Touch

Communication technology allowed us to move information faster to more people. We quickly learned that crisis communication means telling what you know when you know it. We did.

Yet months after Sept. 11, old news is today's news on many of our web sites. A flag, a memorial tribute, a condolences comment. The new "normal" means getting on with business but not forgetting. In fact, web sites that are not acknowledging the new norm appear out of date, almost as if they've not been updated since last summer.

What's yet to be seen is just how the Internet may become a propaganda tool in wan But instead of separating people into different camps, maybe the Web can connect us. Already, we've used the Internet to reach out. In the aftermath of September's tragedies, we got online to find people we desperately wanted to know were OK. We e-mailed our fears, our hopes.

It's these kinds of human connections that prove the real power of the Internet- a power not found in instant news. Since history began, tribes have clashed. Then they connect. When the Internet can help all peoples understand each other and their commonalities, it will have earned its place in the hall of communication fame.

Sheri Rosen, ABC, invites you to share your digital knowledge. She is assistant vice president, Employee Communication, at USAA, a leading financial services company based in San Antonio.