Hi all!I’m doing some research for my next White Paper, and I wanted to know if you have any insights, opinions or experience on having a “dark website” ready to go in the event of a social media crisis.A dark website is a completed website that is ready to go, but turned off, so that you may add your communication quickly and have it up and running in minimal time, during an unexpected crisis.I thought this would be a great place to get your opinions to possibly incorporate into my research and White Paper. So any experience, thoughts, opinions, and comments are welcome!Looking forward to your replies!

@trudy

I’ll send you a link when my White Paper is up – next Monday.

Other than that, we’ll wait to see if anybody has any comments, opinions or experiences to share  

@fredericgonzalo Don’t be – sorry that is! 
There are some cases where a dark website might be a good idea, but perhaps surprisingly, there are more disadvantages to this strategy than advantages. But yes, the Costa Concordia Disaster would have been a rare occasion where this would have been a beneficial idea… and that has inspired some thought for the White Paper – so thank you!
I’ll be sure to post the link in this thread next Monday! 

“Ready to go” and “unexpected crisis” seem to be mutually exclusive properties; unless a person is psychic or has advanced warning. Kind of reminds me of the strategy people use of rushing out and registering domain names linked to an event. I’m not sure there would be advantages to having a dark site because I am not sure how fast you would appear in the SERPs.

I did a lot of research on this topic in school.  I think Dark Websites are a great resouce for larger companies.  I don’t think small businesses need them as much because their online reach is smaller therefore allowing for easier crisis managment.  A lot of companies have almost identical sites housed as dark websites in case of emergancies.  Airlines and those in health care are usually the companies that need them the most.  I’m sure Canival cruises went into crisis mode a week ago as well with their little “boating mishap”

I was in Air Force public affairs before websites ruled the day, so would be interested to know what their current crisis policies are. Going dark is never a complete option there, no matter what happens.

Melissa, military PAO offices can be extremely forthcoming and helpful when not in crisis mode. Do call the one nearest to you to find out what their protocol is in such matters. I find businesses through the years have followed their PAO strategies, but with about a 10 year lag time. Talk to both the Senior PAO officer and senior enlisted serviceman, as officers can’t say a whole lot as they’re considered spokespersons for the commander-in-chief Obama, but the enlisted personnel usually have lots to say.

Don’t think because it’s military it is isn’t relevant. My experience is they’re 10 years more bold, organized, and innovative than their profit-driven private counterparts, so it’s very worth you’re time in asking.

Robin Carlisle

I can see some value in this. I suppose a company that suddenly saw a new revenue stream opening up; possibly a new invention or product may want to hit the ground running with a publicity blitz or something. It’s interesting.

Thanks for your diligence in research and in sharing this. Interesting concept. @melissaagnes

I also shared the link with my referral group. @melissaagnes

As a crisis management professional, I strongly recommend establishment of dark sites to all of my crisis preparedness clients as well as for those who know a crisis is right around the corner — like a pending lawsuit.  It’s so easy to set one up on a Wordpress platform and just “turn it on” with the click of a mouse.  Certain types of crises are quite predictable, as is what you would say and do if they happen.  That information can be the basis for a dark site’s structure and content.  Then, when a crisis actually breaks, “simply” tweak the draft material to make it an exact fit for the situation at hand.