360DigitalInfluence

On the ride in, I listened to the radio relay stories from around the globe about the reaction and impact of Swine H1N1 Flu*. I wondered what a lot of folks must wonder - what do I need to know about this horrible outbreak? What is information and what is hysteria? From our own work with the CDC specifically around pandemic flu, I certainly understand that communication and civic leadership is half the battle to helping people cope and take the right action.

As we all try to get smart about the facts and the fiction, Christopher Graves, President of Ogilvy PR in Asia (and active 360 Digital Influence member) brought us a simple dashboard that compiles news and official resources from the WHO, the CDC and others. You can check it out here.

I particularly liked the Continuity and Communications section which compiles about twenty sources like Outbreak Communication Best Practices from the WHO.  As communicators, we each have to ask ourselves how we can help. This is what Web 2.0 is great for mashing up existing reources in a way that makes them more useful and relevant for folks and getting it up quickly. I even wonder if our government is ready to use the social media gurus and pundits who have “reach”. What if the echo chamber banded together to carry a “clear information about flu” meme to all their followers?  Theoretically, they are the new influencers. What if they stepped forward to convey the facts and the useful information that citizens need to know activated by a WHO or CDC advocacy campaign?

Check out the Ogilvy dashboard on H1N1 Flu.

(Note: I changed our references to the flu to H1N1 - that is the accurate name. )