I came across this question today in my Twitter stream and you can imagine how quick I was to click the link and listen to the audio (attached link below).
The ‘unwritten laws’ of social media.
We can all think of several examples of the unwritten laws that the community of social exists on.
- Give credit where credit is due
- Don’t do anything illegal (also a written law but anonymity helps avoid that)
- Share
- Be transparent
- Don’t spam
- Don’t over exaggerate the reality (like the title of this segment seems to have done)
- Etc, etc…
Are police respecting the unwritten laws? Do they ‘get’ social media?? I say yes, they are and for the most part, they really do ‘get’ it. In the clip I don’t hear any of the unwritten laws referred to, so there isn’t any examples of the unwritten laws used, but still, this is a fantastic 15 minute audio clip. I encourage you to listen to the clip in its entirety, but in the meantime, here are some of the highlights.
3:49 of the audio clip discusses the following tweet. The host of the show, Jian Ghomeshi, talked about this tweet he received from the Regina Police as, “…sweet and also kind of harrowing…”.
I’m sure that Jian has never considered a welcoming tweet from anyone else as “sweet and harrowing”. Jian also goes onto say that it was also comforting to know that the police were in the space. I find it odd that the interaction would bring out any type of comment at all since the REgina Police were actually being awesome at monitoring either the Regina International Aviation Transport Code – YQR, the word Regina or simply, like me… they are Jian Ghomeshi fans.
I’ve seen several examples of people making jokes about being ‘followed’ by the police. It is a cute play on real life vs social life. And rightfully so, many officers have joked right back with the public about it. Adhering to one of the unwritten social laws, BE SOCIAL! Yes, they get it for sure!
Therein lies some of the curiosity about the police breaking the ‘unwritten laws’. The police use of social media is still very much in its infancy and many officers and agencies are still feeling out their position in the space and how their community will accept it. And some communities have different views of what they want from the social police and what works in one community might not work in another.
What really concerns me about the police use of social media are those agencies and officers that are using the platforms without clear direction or goals for their social programs. They end up just adding a lot of noise to the crowded and loud social sphere.
Also discussed in the audio clip are the Prince George’s County Police experiment with the Tweet-a-John Sting, which has been well documented including my own take on it. Could that program have been better strategized? Absolutely! Can it still be done? YES, and I hope it is done with some tweaks to the program and a solid strategy to it. I believe this type of operation can be an amazing tool for crime prevention, public awareness and quality of life issues.
Dr. Patrick Parnaby is the interviewed expert in the segment. “The game changes when it’s law enforcement.” said Professor Parnaby, and man, he is so right on that statement in relation to privacy issues. The professor scratched the surface of an issue that if law enforcement isn’t careful, has the potential to become an arterial bleed. (PRISM and the NSA in the United States comes to mind.)
Even ethical issues are touched on in the clip. PC Scott Mills, the Toronto Police Service Social Media Officer, immediately cited privacy as the ethical beginning,
“The rules are already written.”
We know that there is way more to the ethical issues than merely privacy, but privacy is certainly a massive ethical issue in the police use of social media.
But that harkens back to the title, the “unwritten laws”.
Are police respecting the unwritten laws of social media? (Audio File)
They pin. They live tweet. They even do#throwbackthursdaypic.twitter.com/aYb48QVrXd But do police "get" social media?http://t.co/12KV5kfFep
— Q (@QwithTomPower) May 28, 2014
