Steelhenge’s social media / BCM expert presents at the BANG BC Professionals forum in London event

May 31, 2011 - PRLog -- Leading business continuity and crisis management consultancy Steelhenge, reports that Drew Gibson, Steelhenge's expert on social media and crisis response, spoke at a recent BANG Business Continuity Professionals forum in London as the event's guest presenter. The monthly event is designed to bring business continuity professionals together to debate the evening's topic and socialise informally. For more information, visit www.steelhenge.co.uk or call 0845 094 2117.

"The BANG events have a reputation for grilling their guest speakers, so we waited with interest to hear how Drew's presentation on the impact of social media on crisis response was received," said Isobel Nicholas, Director of Communications for Steelhenge. "The events are designed to provide speakers with a challenging audience of peers in the business continuity industry, and by providing that challenge, encouraging the advancement and development of new ideas."

"I'm glad to report that Drew's talk was extremely well received, and generated stimulating debate as there are still some within the business continuity industry who believe that social media is a passing fad.  While it has been seized upon by younger more technologically savvy generations, it is becoming an increasingly prevalent part of all our lives in the way that we communicate and share information, shaping what we view and expect to have access to in a crisis.  As such it should not be viewed as our foe, but a useful tool for any organisation to utilise," Isobel said.

Drew added; "Social media cannot not be ignored by organisations any longer; it is becoming an increasingly prevalent facet of our lives, even if it is only driving the news stories we watch or the headlines we read. It has its limitations, but it will develop and evolve and we are just at the start of the curve. Business continuity managers do not need to like it or to tweet it," Drew concluded, "but they should at least endeavour to understand it; not only how it can impact us, but how it can be used to our advantage."

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About Steelhenge
Steelhenge Consulting provides end to end business continuity, crisis management and emergency planning services to a broad range of corporate clients internationally, as well as to UK Government Departments, local authorities, the European Commission and NGOs. Steelhenge also delivers specialist services in energy resilience, utility resilience, ICT continuity management, information security and sports event emergency management. Steelhenge has particular expertise in the preparation of people to perform effectively in implementing business continuity and recovery plans, and in communicating both internally and externally with stakeholders during a crisis.

Established in 2004, with offices in London and Salisbury, Steelhenge is the UK's leader in the delivery of bespoke emergency response training and incident management exercises for staff at all levels from the strategic through the tactical to the operational.