Seriously, this is kind of creepy, and one of the reasons I am happy that my twitter feed is protected. Yesterday we discovered that State College Police Dept has joined the twittersphere as @StateCollegePD. Now they are stalking following everyone and anyone in the local area:
Now, I know they've been on Facebook for years, using the collective data on there, but I think I'm at a bit of a loss as to why I would a) want them to follow me, b) want to follow them, and c) even have a reason to use their tweets as a resource? Their initial explanatory tweets state:
Now, I know they've been on Facebook for years, using the collective data on there, but I think I'm at a bit of a loss as to why I would a) want them to follow me, b) want to follow them, and c) even have a reason to use their tweets as a resource? Their initial explanatory tweets state:
Okay, well, to me that level of "need to know" says RSS feed, not
twitterstream. But I'm trying to remain a bit open, trying to decide
what exactly is their mission and, more relevant (at least in MY mind)
is the question, are they actually using the right tool for the job?
Even more interesting is the community reaction to this new member of
the twitterstream. Watch the discourse unfold, just in the first 24
hours (and I've included the responses from SCPD as well).
In retrospect, I think this might have fared better had they A) released more PR about it through local channels before they jumped into the stream (the PR didn't show up until later in the week), and B) not made the first move by following everyone they could find in the State College area. Ultimately, this is about poor execution of an idea intended to be a community service. Folks, do you not understand the concept of marketing? A lesson to be learned for the next time.
In retrospect, I think this might have fared better had they A) released more PR about it through local channels before they jumped into the stream (the PR didn't show up until later in the week), and B) not made the first move by following everyone they could find in the State College area. Ultimately, this is about poor execution of an idea intended to be a community service. Folks, do you not understand the concept of marketing? A lesson to be learned for the next time.
Big Brother is not welcome in these parts.
Leave a comment