In addition to Home Depot, more companies are turning to Twitter to communicate storm tips and company information related to Hurricane Gustav.
Today, the ComcastCares Twitter account started posting very helpful, electronic/communication-related storm preparation tips. The ComcastCares account is always a very helpful, customer-facing extension of Comcast – but in this situation, they adapted to the situation at hand and are posting helpful storm tips. All of this, and I don’t even think Comcast is available in the New Orleans area at this time. It is great to see them using Twitter to offer their expertise even though there is no direct business impact for them.
Last night, JetBlue Airways used their Twitter to send out updated travel information for the New Orleans area. The airliner also has a large page on their site dedicated to storm information and updates.
Twitter is really shining in this moment of darkness. The service is being used by many to send out real time storm information, updates, evacuation information, etc. I would expect that every retailer in the area is in some sort of emergency operations mode, and Twitter is a way for the retailers to send valuable information to the communities they serve: store closings, special inventory alerts, community information.
Thanks for the updates on how our industry is dealing with Gustav and the subsequent line of storms. Great to see the governments, communities and businesses working together to get the supplies and relief these areas need.
Sarah, Home Depot Communications
Sarah, thanks for taking the time to comment and thanks for the effective communications before, during, and after the storm. Good luck with everything coming up – it looks like we are all in for a rough couple of weeks, weather wise.