Twitter allows news to be spread faster
Charley Groth
Issue date: 4/30/09 Section: Opinion
The news that police departments around the country are using Twitter to inform and alert the public, at first glance, may chill the blood of any self-respecting conspiracy theorist. Orwellian visions of a technologically advanced society, doomed to spy on its self arise with the reality of instant communication between a population and it's law enforcement. The shining city on the hill: NARC City.
But who believes in any of that conspiracy stuff anyway? What's so dangerous about news of traffic delays or links to police Web sites? The people following the police "tweet" are many of the same people who sit at home and listen to their police scanner, waiting for the next house fire or plane crash upon which to gawk.
As a former cameraman for two local TV stations, I saw these people all the time. They own re-furbished cop cars with the gun rack and mounted light still intact. They cruise the night, scanner "squawking," not "tweeting," looking for the next fire-truck or news van to follow: Our city's vigilante observers. They watch their favorite local news at 5 and 6 and call once a week with their constitutional two cents.
A while back, as part of my job, I attended a meeting of local law enforcement, media and other agencies to discuss the creation of an alert system coordinated by The Gazette. The e-mail and text message based system allowed communication that was faster than the standard system of press releases, yet not as fast as Twitter.
During the meeting, it was obvious that law enforcement was very concerned about access and crowd control during crime and disaster events. On the other hand, the media was suspicious and a little jaded by previous instances of law enforcement restricting access and information in a timely fashion.
The use of Twitter by authorities should appease news outfits, giving them another feed to watch and the illusion that, indeed, their finger is on the pulse of the city. Authorities, however, won't be stoking the fires for our old friends, the vigilante observers. If anything, they avoid gawkers at all costs. Just ask the officer who, after last summer's flood, had to dodge cars in the middle of Interstate 380, screaming at the top of his lungs, "Look Away! Keep moving!"
But who believes in any of that conspiracy stuff anyway? What's so dangerous about news of traffic delays or links to police Web sites? The people following the police "tweet" are many of the same people who sit at home and listen to their police scanner, waiting for the next house fire or plane crash upon which to gawk.
As a former cameraman for two local TV stations, I saw these people all the time. They own re-furbished cop cars with the gun rack and mounted light still intact. They cruise the night, scanner "squawking," not "tweeting," looking for the next fire-truck or news van to follow: Our city's vigilante observers. They watch their favorite local news at 5 and 6 and call once a week with their constitutional two cents.
A while back, as part of my job, I attended a meeting of local law enforcement, media and other agencies to discuss the creation of an alert system coordinated by The Gazette. The e-mail and text message based system allowed communication that was faster than the standard system of press releases, yet not as fast as Twitter.
During the meeting, it was obvious that law enforcement was very concerned about access and crowd control during crime and disaster events. On the other hand, the media was suspicious and a little jaded by previous instances of law enforcement restricting access and information in a timely fashion.
The use of Twitter by authorities should appease news outfits, giving them another feed to watch and the illusion that, indeed, their finger is on the pulse of the city. Authorities, however, won't be stoking the fires for our old friends, the vigilante observers. If anything, they avoid gawkers at all costs. Just ask the officer who, after last summer's flood, had to dodge cars in the middle of Interstate 380, screaming at the top of his lungs, "Look Away! Keep moving!"
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