Above anything else, social media is about people.

In a recent social media crisis that stormed the $1.4 billionSound Credit Union with thousands of emotional comments from angrypeople, including members, there was one crucial element missingfrom the credit union's reaction to the social media firestorm — ahuman response.

That was one of the key observations made by crisiscommunications experts who weighed in on how the Tacoma,Wash.-based credit union managed a discrimination event at a branchthat was captured on video and posted on Facebook in May. The videodrew nearly a million views, and had 8,600 shares and more than3,000 comments.