We had been hearing about it for a week…all of the local new stations were following an arctic blast that was supposed to bring snow to Portland this past weekend.

You might be thinking that this isn’t news given that its December, but you don’t know Portland.  The hint of snow can shut down the city and surrounding areas. And as it turns out, I’m writing this blog from the comfort of my living room as our kids enjoy their first snow day of the year.

photo credit: Sellwood Street

So why I am writing about the peculiar behaviors of Oregonians in times of inclement weather?

You see, it wasn’t long ago that I worked for a local arts non-profit that relied heavily on concert revenues  generated during the month of December.  And as the snow fell during yesterday, I couldn’t help but think of all of the cell phone and email conversations that must have been going on as several area non-profits were deciding whether or not to cancel events.

By mid afternoon, the storm and its impact on the Portland metro area quickly consumed the news and event cancellations started to roll in.

When I was growing up, we would listen to the radio or watch the TV for school closing and event cancellations.  And while some of you (and your stakeholders) may still turn to these more traditional sources for timely information, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that more and more people access their information from the web.  And they’ll expect that if you have something important to share that you’ll do so via your website.

The same can be said about having the capacity to quickly send out targeted emails to your stakeholders. Or  communicating via your organization’s social networking sites.

So how many different methods does your organization utilize to communicate your message, particularly, when the message is new or urgent?

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