The third Global Police Tweet-a-thon is just behind us. According to Bright Planet the third #poltwt saw over 15,000 original tweets from 1,000 unique users. A map of the officially registered users is on Google.
TAG: #poltwt
[Infographic] Final results of #poltwt Global police tweet-a-thon
Around the world, police men, women, and departments are changing the way they interact. With the increased use of Twitter and other social media, police personnel can now communicate better with their community and other audiences across the globe.
The second global police tweet-a-thon helped raise global awareness of the communication that can exist between law enforcement and the community through advocating law enforcement’s use of the hashtag #poltwt on November 1, 2013. By monitoring the Twitter Firehose, BrightPlanet followed the conversation that was occurring during the tweet-a-thon throughout the 24 hour period. We received and analyzed over 31,000 tweets from over 12,000 individual users and departments. Because of the large percentage of tweets in the English language, the following analysis will be given in English. The results focus primarily on where, when, and from whom the tweets were sent.
Infographics
To help you visualize the results and give students some real world experience, we sent the final collected data set over to a Business Intelligence class at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D. The following infographic is the analysis of that data set. If you have any questions about the dataset or would like access to it, please fill out the contact form located here.
The Global Police Tweet-a-thon is the creation of LAwS Communications. The first #poltwt tweet-a-thon was held March 22, 2013.
See also:
Highlights of #Poltwt – half way through Nov 1, 2013
Global Police Tweet-a-thon, the sequel October 2, 2013
#poltwt, the power of 1 March 27, 2013
Reflections on #poltwt March 26, 2013
Final results of #poltwt Tweet-a-Thon March 25, 2013
Missing a Trick – a UK perspective on police and social media for #poltwt March 25, 2013
Greater Manchester Police joining with forces across the globe #poltwt March 20, 2013
Global Police Tweet-a-thon December 18, 2012
Global Police Tweet-a-thon, the sequel
Next Global Police Tweet-a-thon is November 1st!
History in the making
March 22nd of this year was an epic day for law enforcement. It was the day over 200 law enforcement agencies all across the western hemisphere took to Twitter for 24 hours or a portion thereof to tweet about their work. With the hashtag #poltwt, we trended from New Zealand west to Australia, across Europe and then from the east coast of North America in a wave across to the west coast.
On November 1st, will make history one again. In March, we reached over 11M people with 48,842 tweets in 23 different languages. We hope to make the next #poltwt ever bigger.
Beginning at 8 a.m. Friday, Nov 1st until 8 a.m. on Saturday, Nov 2nd, in your local timezone, tweet any or all of the 24 hours.
The Objective
The overall purpose of the tweet-a-thon is to call attention to policing as well as to police use of social media. Each agency sets its own goals beyond that and tweets whatever portion of the 24 hours that works for you.
The only “rule” is that ever tweet contains the hashtag #poltwt
To sign up:
Email Lauri Stevens at lauri@lawscomm.net
Use subject line: #poltwt
In the message, indicate your Twitter name, your agency name, your physical address (so we can accurately place you on the Google map). If you plan to tweet as an individual officer, give us all of the above and also let us know you’re tweeting as yourself. All emails should come from your government/police address.
#poltwt, the power of 1
This article is a cross-post partnership with Bright Blue Line, celebrating the global spirit of law enforcement cooperation, innovation and support.
Jump
What have I gotten myself into? I agreed to jump without even asking what it was, or where was I going to land. I think the last words replied were, “Let’s do this.” It is a leap I do not regret. The landing is amazing and the Power of 1 is as incredible today as it has ever been.
Imagine that Power of 1 for locating a missing child or globally trafficked human slaves! The Power of 1 is the global network of communications. The Power of 1 is Lauri Stevens at ConnectedCops. The Power of 1 is the March 21, 2012 Global Tweet-a-Thon. The Power of 1 is the thousands of tweets directed to #poltwt.
The policing profession is often criticized for operating in a vacuum. The hierarchical command structure and assignment specialization creates a fragmented environment that regularly compromises congruity of operations. Right hand versus Left hand syndrome.
Breaking the Chains
Over the course of a day; officers enslaved by the same static command models, in the same traditional police organizations, struggling with the same challenges and the same cultures of resistance to innovative ideas broke those chains with a simple #poltwt.
How broken were those chains? Over 200 agencies from 10 countries, speaking 23 languages posting nearly 50,000 tweets. This first in the history of social media, in law enforcement, and in the technological culture of today invited the world on a police “virtual ride-along.”
The Power of 1 shined brightly for this magnificent fraternity of blue. On March 21, 2012, we operated globally in a seamless effort. Information via Tweets was transparently shared between agencies, media and citizens. A voice across the pond also advocating this Power of 1 has prepared several great articles at Nathan Constable
Envelope Pusher
Lauri Stevens, who I’ve come to know as an innovator and envelope pusher served as the catalyst to this movement; the Power of 1. This orchestrated effort costs absolutely nothing to participate in, and the simple investment of time paid the dividends of creating history.
I’d like to believe that as a Chief of Police, I’m an early adaptor to this medium. Actually Lauri bestowed me with a title of “Twief.” I’m trusting her that it is complimentary. Honestly, after the initial agreement to help promote the Tweet-a-Thon with a supporting statement on her flyer, I was still fuzzy about the significance.
Then I saw that first tweet assigned to #poltwt and immediately realized just how significant it was and would be. That Power of 1 Tweet sparked a revolution. It signaled that law enforcement has the ability to harness the power of communications, technological cooperation and collective effort on a singular area of emphasis.
Get Wet
I’ve posted before that Chiefs of Police in social media are like cats in cold water. Scary to watch as they enter, but doable. Efforts like the Global Tweet-a-Thon help warm the water in the social media tub.
If I was to encourage law enforcement to hop or tip a toe into the waters of social media, I simply need to refer to the Power of 1; #poltwt. Read for yourself. A body of knowledge has been developed for best practice policies for taking the plunge into social media.
The waters are no longer murky. People like Lauri Stevens and many others around this globe continue to push and practice the best of what working together through transparent and immediate information sharing produces.
Personal Influence of Social Media
Earlier I posted about the “Stretch of Social Media” and then reposted an update titled the “Blessings of Social Media.” A young officer & friend was diagnosed with leukemia, and after battling through, he emerged victorious.
He sent a picture of himself holding a piece of paper simply reading “I Beat Cancer.” I asked my PIO to post it to our Facebook with a prayer of thanks. It went viral reaching almost a million people.
While Beyoncé and the Lebron James draw a million daily likes over posts about breakfast jelly, we serve in a mid-size city in south Louisiana. The Power of 1 post in giving thanks for this officer stretches beyond that simple paper sign.
What might a cop from Cajun Country have in common with a 12-year-old boy from the UK? The Power of 1; #SuperJosh. This hash tag connects me to a social media superstar loved and supported by cops literally around the world. They even dance the gangnam for him.
Another Brother in Blue, @SgtGaryWatts serves his community, and through social media, supports his friend #SuperJosh who suffers neuromuscular disabilities. Yes, I think it’s the Sergeant @gangnam999 doing the dance moves.
Cats to Water No More
What have I gotten myself into? A wonderful community of amazing people no longer limited by time, distance or communications. Sincerely engaging one another through the various social media platforms builds a network, a community, and an opportunity to step out of that tub, and dive into an exciting ocean. The Power of 1; #poltwt.
Did you participate or follow the World-Wide Virtual Police Tour? What are your thoughts about policing in social media? How often should we do #poltwt (more than once per year?). What should we do differently? Please contribute your thoughts on these questions below.
Related articles
- Government Technology even gave Chief Silverii a Shout Out in this article covering the Global Tweet-a-Thon
- Calgary police join worldwide tweet-a-thon (cbc.ca)
- Omaha police to take part in tweet-a-thon (journalstar.com)
- Bethlehem Police to Participate in First Global Tweet-a-Thon(bethlehempolice.wordpress.com)
- Windsor Police Service joins world’s first global police tweet-a-thon(blogs.windsorstar.com)
- Palo Alto police to host virtual ride-along through Twitter(mercurynews.com)
- Police lead the world in Twitter campaign to keep us in know(manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
Chief Scott Silverii
Scott Silverii is the Chief of Police in Thibodaux, Louisiana. He is also the author of A Darker Shade of Blue. His blog is Bright Blue Line.
Reflections on #poltwt
Image tweeted by @russwebt during #poltwt
A quite amazing thing happened on Friday 22 March that brought the law enforcement and policing community closer together. The world became a smaller place thanks to social media and a special event. But putting all the charts and graphs aside, what did it actually achieve?
The global police Twitter day, known by the hashtag #poltwt, was developed by Lauri Stevens and involved more than 200 law enforcement agencies and individuals which is quite an achievement. The stated purpose was to highlight the work of officers around the world but also to show how they are using social media to support policing activities. This was done from 8am on 22 March 2013 around the world.
For me it was an exciting day that brought with it some highlights and was a show of strength by bringing officers together from many countries. It was another step on the path of demonstrating to colleagues what can be achieved by using social media, and showing that it really is now part of frontline policing. Discovering and using social media is a journey and within any organisation people will be moving at different speeds along the road. Events such as the global Twitter day can help to accelerate things for some people.
Reading the tweets from around the world was fascinating as it highlighted both similarities and differences. There were some common themes:
• everyone wanted to make a difference and improve lives
• conversations and communication were seen as essential
• residents wanted to know more about policing and local officers
• photographs of dogs and horses are always welcome!
The interest in the event was evident in the tweets that were received and the level of involvement people wanted to have. In Greater Manchester Police we saw people sending message throughout the day, asking questions during a two-hour session, and being keen to learn more about what each of the neighbourhood policing teams were doing. It was great to see not just police officers taking part. Local people wanted to get involved by making their voice heard. This was also seen with the latest community reporters taking their time to go on patrol with GMP neighbourhood officers. They were then able to add their own perspective onto global police twitter day.
It was 24 hours that brought the world of policing and law enforcement closer together and helped to develop the conversations between officers and the people they serve. I am sure there will be more to come now that the world has been made a little smaller.