When crisis occurs, people turn to social media. We learned this many times over in recent years, including the Haiti earthquake and, more recently, with the uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.

But it never struck home for us like it has over the last two weeks. When Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s sneak attack on collective bargaining became exposed a couple weeks ago, it led to tens of thousands of educators, other public employees, families and concerned citizens descending on the State Capitol – and marching in their communities – to express their outrage.

But those highly visible and persistent street crowds – which have now rallied every day for nearly two weeks straight - are just the tip of the iceberg of this vast and passionate movement against the governor’s unjust and unwarranted attack on the rights of hundreds of thousands of his own citizens. A even larger crowd has been rising up against this injustice over the Internet.

There are many battlefields in this online war against Walker’s assault on public employees, but one that has become a centerpiece of the fight for educators is the WEAC Facebook page. The level of engagement on this page has exploded as this issue has gone from a curiosity to a movement, and as people’s reaction has gone from shock to outrage.

In two weeks, the page went from 1,500 to more than 9,000 “fans,” but the statistics that really struck me were the numbers of “likes” and comments on this page over the last two weeks: 24,351 as of this writing. That’s a 60,778% increase over the same period last month! And the biggest statistic of all – 2.7 million post views by fans and non-fans combined!

What does that tell us? It tells us you care very deeply about this fight for your rights. It tells us you want to talk about it. It tells us you are hungry for information, and anxious to come together for a cause. It tells us you have recognized and are using the power of social media to its fullest. And it tells us that you are organized.

The WEAC Facebook page is not just a place where WEAC keeps you informed about what is happening – and what is coming up – at the Capitol and throughout the state, although we do that. It is a place where you share your insights, articles, statistics, photos, videos, and emotions - and exchange words of support and inspiration.

Similar things are happening on Twitter, where news and opinions are spreading so fast it’s hard to keep up. WEAC’s Twitter followers have grown from a few hundred to over 2,500, and the number of tweets, retweets and other engagements have skyrocketed. If you’ve never used Twitter before, this is a great time to discover its power. You can use Twitter to get constant news and activity updates, and "tweets" from people on the front lines of rallies, pickets and other activities. Search for the hashtags #weac, #wiunion and #notmyWI for a constant stream of valuable information.

And don’t forget the “old fashioned” website version of social media. The number of visitors to weac.org and commenting on stories has increased 800% in the last two weeks as well. The page listing upcoming activities at the Capitol and in your communities has been viewed 60,000 times.

It is clear that social media is playing an extremely important role in this emotionally charged battle over the governor’s “budget repair bill,” but the biggest battles over collective bargaining rights may still lie ahead. It is critically important that the crowds rallying around these issues on social media sites remain intact, connected, organized and energized. In fact, it is essential if we are going to win this in the long run. And we are!