Police have secret files with people’s personal ID in them

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Tim Burrows

“Police have secret files with people’s personal ID in them” …wow, there’s an earth shattering revelation.  Who would think that police have files with people’s information contained in them? And they make those files secret?? What is this world coming to?

Say it ain’t so!!

Can you hear the sarcasm in my words?

It was revealed the other day that a FBI computer was hacked and a file was downloaded from that computer that contained a reported 12 million unique Apple IDs with an array of associated information.

Here’s one of many articles about the hack. (Theft) “Hackers claim proof the FBI is tracking mobile devices.”

The hack doesn’t offer proof that the FBI or anyone else is tracking mobile devices for any nefarious, illegal or unjust reasons.  The article doesn’t show why the FBI has the information at all.  But lets consider some of the possibilities…

  1. These are devices that have been reported stolen and the police have a file for them.
  2. These are devices that have been used in criminal investigations and the police have a file for them.
  3. These devices are linked to terrorist or domestic extremism investigations and the police have a file for them.
  4. These are devices that owned by average everyday citizens who are going about their business lawfully and legally and the police have nothing better to do so they keep a file on them.

If the reason is the fourth, I’m concerned.  If the reason is the first three, I’m relieved.

Thank goodness the police have files on bad people.  Thank goodness the police may have files on the ID of victims of crime so that they can be identified in case a matter goes to court.

Thank goodness if the police identify people who wish to cause harm to the safety and security of its citizens that they identify and monitor them.  I’m good with all that if it means my families right to safety and security is protected.

The police keep files… big surprise.  Conspiracy theorists and those that have a genuine hatred for authority will always be able to tell you that government and big brother are always up to no good.

Intelligent and objective people will look at the information available, consider all the possibilities and make an informed opinion based on facts and probabilities.

I’m not concerned that the police keep files.  I’d be concerned if they didn’t.

“The police have files…you don’t say”

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Wordless Wednesday

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Tim Burrows

Summer fun winds down, back to school

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Targeting the right audience

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Tim Burrows

One of the most memorable reactions to a crisis communications situation I recall is when Domino’s Pizza faced the wrath of an enraged populace who were responding to a video posted by employees in one of their stores doing all sorts of disgusting things to food being prepared for consumption.

The video went viral on YouTube and the damage started to take hold.  Domino’s responded with their own video of Partick Doyle, President of Domino’s at the time condemning the actions of the North Carolina pair and assuring the public of the importance that Domino’s place s on food safety.

What Domino’s did was take the response where the action was occurring.  It was a great move on their part.

On the flip side of this, I came across a post about Facebook and how it was cleaning up some of the problems that have been reported with fake likes on advertising issues.  Like most blog posts, the one I was reading (listening to) provided the opportunity to share the information into multiple social streams.  Here is what caught my eye about it…

Where are you sharing?

The blog post was clearly about Facebook but only one share had been done into the Facebook stream.  56 into Twitter, 2 into LinkedIn but only 1 into Facebook.

Granted, most people who are using one platform are using multiple platforms, so to some, a share is a share.  But, when I shared this to Facebook, it was because it was a Facebook related post.

Posting on multiple platforms is great provided you are doing it the right way but knowing where to put the information and when can be vital.

If you see a crisis arising on Facebook, take it head on in the Facebook platform. You may talk about it on Twitter or YouTube after or direct people there, but be where the problems are.  Or in the case above, know where to share the information.

Another great example of this is a recent FB scam involving tagged photos that has been making its rounds. Since the target of the attack is Facebook, it would only make sense to let people know on Facebook.  Tweet about it sure, but since the problem is within Facebook… share it there first!

Thoughts, agree, disagree? Let me know!

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4 Types of Corporate Twitter Accounts

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Tim Burrows

Photo from gulfport-ms.gov

Are there more than four types of Twitter accounts?  Yes, sure there are.  These are just four of the more common ones that I have seen.

Broadcaster

What it looks like… Auto posts or tweets that are nothing more than press releases or CAD information.  The posts can even include code or symbols that mean nothing to the average person.

What it means… We are here only because someone told us that we should be using Twitter but we have no actual interest in knowing you, our community.  We may even be attempting to drive you to our website, that is designed to be even less interactive than our Twitter Feed.

Narcissist

What it looks like… All posts including ReTweets and Quoted Tweets say something along the lines of, “Hey look at us. We’re great and people love us. You should too.”

What it means… We are here only to make sure you know how great we are, or how great others think we are.  We are a purely using Twitter as a propaganda manner of self promotion.  If you say something nice about us, we’ll ReTweet your thoughts so everyone else can feel the same about us too!! Look at us!!  This gets really ugly when there are multiple accounts for the organization and they all ReTweet each other all day long.

Over Lord

What it looks like… You will bow to us and listen to what we say.  We will entertain you by indulging you and your questions, but we won’t actually listen to you.

What it means… The organization may actually be making an attempt to engage with its audience, but has no real interest in changing or hearing what the community has to say.  Another great thing this account will do is make boxed and stiff posts that no one other than lawyers can understand or that use big words and ideals that try to show their knowledge of key words.

Partner

What it looks like… Posts of all kinds. Tweets, retweets, positive, negative interactions. Lots of @ replies and conversations taking place.

What it means… The organization os committed to their Twitter presence and more importantly to their community.  They don’t shy away from criticism and don’t trumpet compliments.  They ask for help in becoming better through conversation of their faults and simply say thank you to the compliments.  Their whole purpose of being on Twitter is to serve their community.

What does your organizations account look like?  Are you proud of it? Concerned for it?  What would you suggest to help accounts change to the one you think they should look like?

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Don’t use science ROI on human interaction

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Tim Burrows

There is a reason Return on Investment (ROI) is one of the most talked about subjects within social media for business.  How do you know your effort, time, money and other resources (Investment) are worth the gains for those efforts (Return)?

You have to measure your social media investment to find out if it is really worth it or not, or at the very least, determine if there is something that you can do better to improve on your return.  For the business world you’re going to use the “sciency” tools to figure this all out.  Math, algorithms, click-throughs, sales, likes, followers, exposure, reach… all great tools to figure out that magical ROI.

But what about a market place where there is no ROI? How do you measure a business model with no physical sales, no tangible products and no revenue?

Well, if everything the experts say about social media is true, then the measurement you are seeking is the measurement of human interaction.  If social is truly about people and conversations, then what you should be measuring is the human connection.  And I’m sorry, but for all you math and science majors, you just can’t put a number or scale humans being good humans to each other.

That kind of measurement goes way deeper and is far or complex than an algorithm.

Measure this….

An 8yo’s answer to the “Human Graph”

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30 posts in 30 days

Posted on September 1, 2012 by Tim Burrows

What in the name of Sir Robert Peel was I thinking??

Somehow I agreed to committing myself to writing 30 blog posts in 30 days.  I write for a few different blogs including this one, but never have I even thought of writing that much. I’ve written four posts in one day, but that was so I didn’t have to write again for a month!!

That’s the first problem…30  posts in 30 days.

The second problem.  Not writing CRAP! (Consistently Repulsive Annoying Posts).  I have always thought that if I couldn’t write something decent I wouldn’t write anything at all.  Well, thinking back, I don’t know if I have written consistently good posts.  For all I know, I could have been writing crap all along.

30 posts in 30 days and writing good relevant information. This should be interesting.

Why would I do this?  Well, I answered the call from Dave Jaffer aka @combatdavey who came up with the idea. Dave also recruited Anita Chauhan aka @Anita_Chauhan to take up the challenge and had the nerve to write about it before we could back out!

If you know anything about me, I don’t do much just for the fun of it… there is inevitably a strategy behind what I am doing.  No different here. Yup, that’s right. This isn’t just a writing challenge to me nor is it just about committing to something and staying with it. Yeah, I’m really exciting… I’ve written out my strategy, goals (3) and objectives for doing this.  The time is set and I’ve developed a measurable criteria for the after 30 day analysis.  (This is my way of saying I know the blog post topic for day 30.)

So, here it comes.  A daily post for the next 30 days. #30posts

30 posts is 30 days
Without writing CRAP

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The importance of strategy

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Tim Burrows

Most of you who know me, will know that I don’t consider myself a tourist when it comes to being in the Orlando, Florida area. I pretty much consider myself a local.  I know the areas to avoid traffic. I know the highway systems (for the most part) and I know where many points of interest are and how to get there.

I’m a guy… I don’t need this!

On a recent trip, I used my “known” knowledge of the are to get from point A to point B.  An hour and a half later, I was at my destination. In terms of a strategy here is the breakdown.

Strategy: Get to my destination

Goal: Arrive at my destination to complete a specific task

Objective: Don’t get lost. Be safe. Compete the task in a timely manner.

Measurement: Travel time which would allow my task to be completed leaving enough time to get to my next appointment.

Analysis: Travel took way to long.

Adjustment: Determine a better route of travel and execute that route.

I knew where I was going and the two highways that would get me there.  I used those routes but it took me considerably longer than it should have.

Even though I knew where it was I wanted to go, I didn’t look to see if there was possibly a better way to do it… and there was.  For my return trip, I utilized resources available to me and cut my travel time in half.

How does this relate to social media?  Simple…

You may know how to use the tools.  You may know what you want to accomplish, but if you are relying on the just the information you hold, you may not be aware that there are others ways to reach your goals faster, more efficiently and more effectively.

I have seen so many police agencies and officers using social media that have a good grasp on the tools and how to use them, but based purely on the information they are putting out have no concept of using or having a strategy or any direction to their information.

The biggest single investment that a police agency will make into the use of social media is time.  If you aren’t maximizing your time, chances are you are wasting it.

The learning point for this is simple.  Consider what you don’t know as much as you consider what you do know.  Sometimes, no matter how good we think we are at something, there could be a better way and if we take the time to learn something new, we just might get better at what we set out to do.

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Fact checking… you just gotta do it!

Posted on August 25, 2012 by Tim Burrows

I was looking at the Facebook the other day and saw a story that caught my eye.  It was about an abduction of a child from my hometown, so naturally I was interested in what was happening and if I knew anyone involved.

The report was accompanied by the picture of the missing child with a plea for help to locate her.  The post had been shared a few times and the expected concern was shown in the comments.

I was tempted to share the post myself but stopped short.  I reminded myself that information like this absolutely NEEDS to be fact checked before you share it.  So, I did just that. I called the local police and they hadn’t heard anything about it.

Today, sure enough, I saw a post online about the story.  The headline said it all…

“St. Thomas Police: Social Media Reports Of A Child Abduction Are False:”

In this day and age of instant communication and the ability to spread information, factual or not, is incredible!  But, take a moment and think about the damage that can occur as a result of this instant share phenomena.

  • The more we are subjected to false information, the less we believe all information on its face.
  • If we see Amber Alerts and missing children false reports continuously, we might begin to ignore them.
  • The one we ignore, could be real and it won’t have the same support that it should.

It’s so easy to hit ReTweet, Share, RePin and Like, but are we really taking the time to be informed, or are we just going through the motions.

As the officer was quoted in the above story says;

Constable says social media users need to fight the urge to jump to conclusions.

“Unless everyone has the facts or there has been a news release from St. Thomas City Police or any police force for that matter people just need to be cautious that they don’t jump to conclusions that something has occurred when in fact it has not.”

It really doesn’t take that long to check facts.  If the local police are on social media, they will more than likely post the information.  There you have a reliable and credible source.  If they aren’t using social, then a google search for a phone number will get you information fairly quickly.

Where do you put your checkmark?

Related posts: When does help hinder?

 

 

 

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Monitoring your presence

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Tim Burrows

One of the things that everyone should be doing is monitoring their personal presence online.  Regardless of whether you are on-line or not, but if you’re reading this, you’re online.

Did you see that?

Depending on what you do you should also consider monitoring your agency or organizations presence as well, or at the very least, ensure that someone in your workplace is doing it.

The basic of monitoring is to allow for awareness of what is being said about you, your organization or agency and knowing where it is being said.  The importance for this is obvious… knowing who is saying what, where it’s being said and in what context to better manage your reputation.

If you don’t care, then you can stop reading.

There are many tools available to monitor your presence.  There is no way I can describe all of them, so I will highlight a few and let you explore the rest.

Google Alerts: This is a must.  Google is the information holder and scanner of the web, so it is only natural that this is a must do.  You can set up your search criteria and choose several options for how and when you want to be notified of any mentions of your searches. Bonus, add google reader to your tools. (free)

SocialMention: Great tool for seeing what is being said across a wide variety of platforms.  Enter what you are searching for and you can direct it to look at one or multiple platforms. (free)

Hootsuite / Tweetdeck: Fantastic one stop shop for monitoring keywords, lists, IDs in a format that puts columns at your finger tips. (free)

Twitter: Connect – Interactions, mentions, #Discover are all great for knowing what is happening with your presence. Great for being able to respond and monitor in Twitter. search.twitter.com is excellent and underused. Check out the advanced settings. (free)

Facebook: Notifications are essential to know what is being said with you or about you. Under the ‘Account Settings’ tab click on notifications to see how much information you can be notified of. Never overlook your timeline or news feed either. It’s good to know what your friends and people you have subscribed to are talking about.

RSS Feeds: They aren’t just for having blog post updates sent to you.  They can be used to get all sorts of information aggregated to your choice of viewers.  I have multiple RSS feeds go to Google Reader and directly to my email. (free)

Professional Services: Radian6, Sysomos, Tellegance (watch for this one…not publicly live yet), Jugnoo, Argyle are all power houses for monitoring and interacting. ($$$$)

Hope this helps.  Have any good ones that I didn’t mention here? Feel free to let everyone know in the comments.

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CopChat ep 7: Solutions

Posted on August 15, 2012 by Tim Burrows

Image courtesy Soundnuos Solutions

Over the last 6 weeks, #copchat has been a lot of fun, had some challenges, introduced many new faces to one another and established itself as a great way for the public and police to talk to each other with their “hair down” as it were.

The primary goal of #copchat has always been to help bring our communities together to not just chat on Twitter but to find solutions to real problems.  Neither the police nor the public have all the answers to all of life’s challenges.  But the public have some answers, and the police have some answers so together there is probably way more progress that can be made in the problem solving realm.

One challenge to problem solving and solution achievement will always include perspective.  That’s where #copchat has been great is helping to get a better perspective from each other.

So tonight’s #copchat will be all about solutions.  Come on out, 9pm eastern time, as always on Twitter.

Don’t forget to take a look at the intro piece if you are new to help make your experience as great as possible ->> #COPCHAT

 

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