Facebook and Instagram Go Down and Why Paper Matters

On March 13th Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp all suffered an outage to some degree for as much as twenty four hours. People around the world were affected. It was pretty shocking, because let's face it - like them or not - they are for all practical purposes, a utility. And they reminded us that utilities go down. Power companies, as well as cell carriers are vulnerable and we shouldn't be naive to think they'll always be available.

Fortunately, paper doesn't "go down." Part of a proper go-bag is having your critical information on paper. This includes your emergency plan, addresses, critical documents, phone numbers, etc. An emergency plan has instructions for what to do when there is no communication - and yes, it should be on paper and distributed to your family and loved ones. An emergency plan also means having a completed family plan that deals with what to do when there's no communication. Also on paper. Available 24/7/365.