Writing a blog entry, I began to speculate about why cops aren’t as involved with social media as, well, I think they should be. Was it the technology? The personal interaction? The anonymity? Or simply that they don’t yet understand it well enough? I didn’t have the experience to say authoritatively. So I opened it…
Author Archives: Christa Miller
Media training via social media?
This analysis from Crisisblogger Gerald Baron, on an interview Cambridge PD Sgt. James Crowley did with the media, makes me wonder: can social media help train officers to deal with traditional media? Cops are taught, by and large, to steer clear of the media. The PIO or a commanding officer handles them at critical incidents,…
How few is too few?
Some law enforcement agencies may be reluctant to jump into social media because they are unsure of how many customers are really online. What’s the point, they reason, if they’re communicating with only a tiny fraction of the population they serve? It’s a valid point. Committing already-thin resources to something that may not pay off…
Summing it up in 25 words
I read a number of blogs that have nothing to do with law enforcement: the ones that teach social media as a business tool, as a community relationship tool. One of my favorites is Successful Blog by Liz Strauss, who challenges more creative and less analytical thinking (and I do mean challenge, because I am…
Stretching resources for social media
A recent (June 16) Twitter post from @MountainViewPD caught my eye: “MVPD Followers: Please do not do @replies to the MVPD tweets. We do not have the resources to respond to them in a timely manner.” Yowza. Twitter is a conversation medium; how can you want to avoid conversation? Yet a look at MVPD’s Web…
Blending professional and personal in Aurora (Illinois)
I recently blogged about “expert branding” and how it could help a police department’s overall mission by drawing on officers’ experience and taking some of the informational weight off the PIO’s shoulders. Around the time I was writing the post, I noticed Lt. Kristen Ziman (@Lt_KZ on Twitter) was tweeting some pretty funny stuff. I…