These days, there is so much talk about social media and networking and how it benefits business. We all chuckle at a cell phone commercial where they help the little girl find her puppy. However, in a more tragic and terrifying situation, last week I saw an excellent example on how to use these new tools in the most beneficial sense.

Within 12 hours of San Diego area high school student Chelsea King being reported missing, I received at least seven Facebook invites to join the group “Help Find Chelsea King.” The invites were sent from the kids living in my neighborhood, many of whom are only in the 4^th grade. I received four or five emails with her photo and flyers to be passed out – asking for help in finding her.  These were emailed by our school district and co-workers in the form of a forward (chain) letter. In just a few hours later, they were able to recruit over 1500 people to help with search parties and prompt several hundred kids to hand out flyers at every shopping center I have been to in a 20 mile radius.

I am pleased to see a community pull together so quickly in the event of a horrific circumstance and witness first hand the manner in which our children are able to embrace this form of communication and spring into action when needed. I can now fully appreciate all the time my kids spend on the computer and texting.