The disaster of Hurricane Katrina is mind-boggling. My heart goes out to all those affected. Like so many folks, I have a special feeling for the city of New Orleans. Inconceivable to think of 80 percent of the city being underwater.

Coincidentally, I’m writing a chapter in my book that considers the crossover of blogging from the realm of the personal to that of small business and corporate America.

One reason is human behaviour. In a crisis, people increasingly are turning to blogs to get an account of what’s really happening. They expect a blog to tell them in an in-the-moment, ragged, authentic voice, typos and all. They expect to see photos and video, however raw and unedited. It seems more real than the packaged report of a reporter in a wind-whipped anorak.

That’s what mainstream adoption of a new technology or phenomenon means. It’s based on reflexive behaviour, not on a carefully planned marketing strategy.

The connection to business is obvious, don’t you think?

Just as we turn to Google and an online search to answer almost any question these days ( …when was the last time you trekked down to the public library?), so blogs and blogging are becoming a habit.

Useful Links for Hurricane Katrina disaster relief & information

KatrinaHelp wiki

Blog for Relief (courtesy of Paul Chaney)

NoLa.com blog (dozens of stories submitted by survivors)

List of disaster relief agencies

Update

Slogging, and Blogging, Through Katrina
Op-ed article on the topic of crisis blogging by Kaye Trammell (The Washington Post – Sept. 3, 2005)