With the advent of social media, handling a crisis is subject to changed expectations. Citizens and consumers are more demanding of the truth, there is a wider range of influencers than ever before and there is more activism as a consequence of social media and its power to communicate issues very quickly, than there ever has been in the past.

Social media distributes, escalates and amplifies issues at a greater magnitude than we have ever witnessed. Authentic communication, including transparency, accountability and the speed at which you react to the situation is the key to managing and resolving a crisis situation.

Take for example, the live coverage of the hostage situation in the Philippines this week. The Philippines government allowed their handling of the situation to be televised as it played out and are now subject to intense criticism in the media and online communities for their handling of the situation, which many deem to be inept, contributing to the loss of lives of seven tourists and the hostage taker.

Distribution: Twitter helped proliferate information about the crisis at lightning speed. One ‘tweeter’ was literally ‘live-tweeting’ updates, using the hash tag #manila, and was most probably at the scene.

Coverage by the mainstream media provides credibility, and is widely picked up online by netizens, bloggers etc. So Twitter users were cross referencing traditional media, such as the wires (eg. Reuters, Associate Press), newspapers, and along with broadcasters who showed the situation live on cable television (eg. CNN, BBC). Video clippings of the crisis were posted on YouTube as well as the broadcasters websites, eg cnn.com.

Escalation: In crisis situations, instant messaging through platforms such as MSN, Yahoo! Messenger, Twitter and Facebook help organise public opinion quickly. Hong Kong residents began cancelling trips to the Philippines immediately as calls to their safety were called into question. Reflecting public opinion, Donald Tsang, the chief executive of Hong Kong, asked all Hong Kong people to leave the Philippines as quickly as possible.

Amplification: Again reflecting consensus, the day after the hostage situation, using traditional media, Tsang criticised the Philippines handling of a hostage crisis, expressing his disappointment in the outcome. Hong Kong citizens were also quoted, openly challenging the handling of the situation in both traditional and social media, saying that a peaceful resolution may have been reached and that the Philippines were inept in their handling of the situation.

Response: The Philippines government took a very proactive and unusual step of using their website, http://www.gov.ph/, to address and respond to the public during the crisis. They initially posted a briefing about the live situation, followed by a statement at 1.14pm that they continued to monitor the situation. After the incident concluded, a Presidential statement was issued stating the facts of the hostage incident, rationalizing the government’s handling of the event. In all instances, the briefing and statement had the capacity to be re-tweeted or recommended to friends online. (From the source, the Presidential statement attracted over 370 re-tweets and 1,300 Facebook postings).

By accepting responsibility, as well as openly communicating in an authentic manner, the Philippines government responded appropriately to the crisis. Furthermore, their President clearly indicated that they will continue the dialogue as more facts come to light.

The real crisis is the loss of faith that foreign governments, especially China and Hong Kong, have experienced in the security of their citizens to travel to the Philippines. The impact on tourism to the Philippines may be profound.

The hostage incident in Manila was a text book case of how to appropriately handle a crisis using social media. The onus is now on the Philippines government to assure other governments of their ability to protect foreign visitors and to demonstrate that this crisis was a one off incident that was entirely circumstantial. Their first step to do this was contained within the Presidential statement that they posted online the night of the event.  The President made clear that the police acted with caution and took action once they deemed all lives were at risk. The actions the Philippines take next will determine the impact on tourism.