September 2009

What Does Transparency In Social Media Really Mean?

by Mike Vallez on September 24, 2009

As I navigate through the many different social media websites, blogs, microblogs and beyond the continued mantra of “transparency” is apparent. As a blogger and someone who consumes the internet approximately 12 hours a day I understand why it is so important to be “transparent” when interacting with others on the web. But, what does “transparency” really mean in social media?

Some would say “transparency” is the half naked picture of a woman or man’s Facebook profile picture along with enough details in that profile for the average serial killer to locate that person. I would say that scenario is a little to “transparent.” Some would say “transparency” is being honest when dealing with others on the web, this I would agree with. The sarcasm in the first example is heavy, but in reality there are plenty of individuals who are way too “transparent” on the web. But, again I ask you are there different meanings of “transparency” on the web?

Personally, I believe there are different degrees of “transparency” in social media. A blogger has to be ‘transparent” in his or her posts to gain trust with the reader. Anonymous bloggers on the other hand are the antithesis of “transparency” and frankly are more like bomb throwers than anything else. Corporations, businesses and anyone trying to convince others to buy their product on the web should either be “transparent” or get ready to become “transparent” by fending off accusations of “non-transparency”, which frankly can undermine their brand. Can the police or federal law enforcement dare to be “transparent?” Yes, they can and have to be to gain credibility with others on the web and in social media.

“Transparency” by police is no different than the average Joe or Jane, except in cases where “transparency” would undermine an ongoing investigation. Police have a great opportunity to build trust with their citizens through blogs run by police executives, communication officers, or street patrol officers. The interaction between the police and citizens in social media opens up the opportunity for relationships to be built and for a level of trust to be formed through “transparency.” What about the “hue” and “cry” of officer safety. Well Google your name and find out how much information is out there already on the web about you. Unfortunately, if someones heart is set on doing another serious harm a private investigator, hitman, etc can find you and I. That last sentence is not meant to be dramatic, but realistic.

Being “transparent” is a must in social media. This does not mean getting naked in your Facebook or MySpace profile. Rather it means being sincere and honest in your blog posts, Tweets, Facebook threads, etc. Be yourself, be sincere, don’t curse at others, use facts and professional discussion to prove your point, and if not agree to disagree. If you get caught with your pants down, being “transparent” means stepping up to the plate and taking responsibility, not shoving it off on others. This is my view of “transparency” it may not be yours, but if you are going to have discussion on the web and you lie get ready to get righted.

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Facebook Login Leads Police To Burglary Suspect….

by Mike Vallez on September 21, 2009

The Journal-news.net reports how a rather unaccomplished burglar ends up getting caught by his Facebook login, yep, you heard me right. Here is a recreation of the crime: 1) break window of victims house 2) ransack house, take valuables 3) Login into Facebook to check wall status (duh) 4) Quickly leave with valuables and avoid getting caught. So if we were playing a game like “which part of the burglary process does not fit” I think we would all choose number three above.

But, believe it or not Jonathan G. Parker, 19, of Fort Loudoun, Pa., did login into his Facebook account to check out, who knows what for, but I guess the obvious to check his “wall” status. Do you see how social media is changing things in law enforcement. I am not sure, but this has to be one of the first arrests due to Facebook login evidence. How does this hold up in a court of law? Are there any “expert Facebook witnesses” in the yellow pages or Google who can testify to “Facebook rules of login?” Point is the criminal justice system, particularly the prosecutors and defense attorney’s have a possible historical social media case law issue on the horizon. Can it be proven that the suspect actually logged into his account? If there is no physical evidence and this is the only piece of evidence what an interesting outcome may be forthcoming.

My wheels start working when I think of the opportunities that are out there for software to be developed that can be integrated with Facebook and other social media sites to protect it’s users. In this case maybe Facebook could force the users to provide some type of unique user information when logging into a new computer to authenticate that computer? This may be considered intrusive, but what if the victim had been murdered! Yea, I could “what if” this to death, but don’t think this can’t happen. What about the Craig’s List Killer? Bet nobody thought that someone would find prey on Craig’s List as a serial killer. Will social media sites move towards user authentication of some sort, I think so. But, it will probably be some brilliant developer and a marketing guru that provide the solution.

The suspect did not meet the victim on Facebook according to the article, but this still present a reason for the “authentication login” I propose above. The “authentication login” would also be very useful for anyone in any social media community who wants some protection from unknowns. Force the spammers, bots, freaks, fakes, and so on to become authenticated and force transparency. This may be considered a little drastic, but many females are harassed online due to their profiles alone. Social media protections for users will increase, but don’t lose any sleep waiting for them to do so.

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Social Media (Facebook) Helps Aid In Search of Teen

by Mike Vallez on September 20, 2009

SGV Tribune posted an article on how a missing person search was established by private citizens (not police) using Facebook. A young man named Vincent Giovanazzi went missing and unfortunately he ended his life before he could be located. A family friend of Giovanazzi’s parents set up a missing person Facebook page for Vincent. The Facebook page popularity caught on and a large number of people (200+) turned out to look for Vincent Giovanazzi. The search was successful and Vincent Giovanazzi’s body was recovered. Subsequently, the Facebook page for Vincent Giovanazzi was turned into a memorial page with information about the young man’s memorial service and funeral. Why didn’t police create the missing person Facebook page?

Police applauded the use of a Facebook page as a missing person tool, but they also commented that pages like this could get out of control if used in an attempt to solve criminal cases. I am not sure I agree with Glendora Police Department, Lt. Tim Staab’s statement regarding the use of Facebook pages by citizens to solve crimes. If police are not going to use these tools then citizens should and have the right of free speech to do so. I am not encouraging citizens to hinder investigations, but getting the word out to as many people as possible usually solves crimes faster than waiting for a lead. Back to the topic of using Facebook as a missing person tool. What a fabulous idea, specifically in this case where the victim was a younger individual.

Social media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube have not been tapped to their potential as tools to help in missing person/criminal cases. Take for example the ability to leverage these social media giants in missing person cases, criminal cases, and as a possible location to develop criminal leads for investigations. Again, social media and law enforcement are two separate worlds that are on a collision course called “cultural communication change.” There should be a huge takeaway in this unfortunate incident in the age of the victim and that social media was a key factor in recovering the victim’s body.

I anticipate the Glendora Police Department may be reevaluating the need to get involved in social media. A check of their website showed no involvement in social media, but maybe this incident will spur them to at least consider the usefulness of social media as law enrforcement tools. I have a feeling we will be seeing “missing person” pages and “crime help plea” pages on Facebook in the future. As social media continues to change how people communicate, so will it change how process is handled in missing person cases, criminal cases, etc. Again, social media is not the end all be all, but it is here and deserves respect as a massive form of communication.

**To the family of Vincent Giovanazzi I am sorry for your loss and my prayers go out to you. This article was not written to exploit your son’s death in anyway. This article was written to encourage law enforcement and others to implement social media as a law enforcement tool.**

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Gang’s Go Cyber, Put Police On Defense!

by Mike Vallez on September 17, 2009

Fox 23 news station out of Tulsa, Oklahoma had a recent story that peaked my interest. Gang members in Tulsa are using “social media” outlets like MySpace and Twitter to further their criminal enterprise. This activity is called “cyber banging”, how appropriate. Some law enforcement agencies have been involved in social network sites like MySpace or chat rooms mostly to find sexual predators. However, now you are seeing uneducated gang members (for the most part) adapting their criminal activities to use FREE social media network tools to aid their business efforts. Truly amazing and definitely a challenge to traditional law enforcement efforts. Were the Tulsa police in those social networks prior to “cyber bangers”, probably not. Law enforcement has to adapt to “social media” enforcement now that there are significant criminal activities occurring in these social networks.

Has law enforcement done anything to monitor, obtain intelligence, and or evidence from “cyber banging”? My post on on Social Media Police Officer may not be so far fetched after all. The criminals are not waiting for law enforcement to get into social media. In fact the criminals appear to be ahead of law enforcement in social media. The fact that real gang members are into social media is not surprising. Why? As Assistant Chief LePere mentioned to me in our interview, “social media is a cultural communication change”. People are changing how they communicate and why should criminals be any different. That fact that for years some law enforcement agencies have been going undercover online into chat rooms to find sexual predators is evident that law enforcement is aware of this. But, why the slow response to adapt and to assimilate social media into their overall law enforcement efforts?

Budgets, buy in from executive staff, time, new technology are but a few quick reasons why law enforcement is being dragged into social media. The police in the Tulsa area that are going into the “social networks” where they have identified this activity are having to crack codes to determine what the “cyber bangers” are communicating to each other. These criminals are organized and sophisticated enough to identify the usefulness of using “social networking” Whether it is to communicate a drug transaction or to communicating a retaliation attack on an opposing gang. Think of the ramifications of a well built “social media” criminal network. Faster communication through farther geographical distances, gangs with similar interests may be able to join through networks, better organization of larger gangs, etc. This criminal activity is not exclusive to “cyber bangers”, heavens no what about Al Qaeda. National security is a perfect area for exploitation and use of “social media” tools.

Law enforcement both local and national is going to have to come to grips with the idea that “social media” is being used by criminal elements. There is a need to get into these conversations as undercover officers/agents so law enforcement can attempt to mitigate the criminal activity that is blossoming from “social networking” by criminals. Law enforcement is reactive most of the time, because criminals continue to be creative. The fact that many law enforcement agencies are not jumping into the “social media” pool without first looking to see if the pool is empty is understandable. However, they better look quick and make a decision before they have to play catch up. I look forward to having a robust debate and to continue to be a proponent of law enforcement adopting “social media”.

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Inside The Lakeland PD With Asst Chief Bill LePere

by Mike Vallez on September 15, 2009

Recently I had the opportunity to meet with Assistant Chief of Police Bill LePere of the Lakeland PD located in Lakeland, Florida. My reason for meeting with Chief LePere was to continue to gain knowledge in social media and law enforcement. Specifically, to see how social media is being pursued by law enforcement agencies like the Lakeland PD. Lakeland PD is active on Twitter and they have a Facebook page as well as an external blog called Inside The Lakeland PD. In addition to these social media communication tools Lakeland PD also has a New Online Media Center and Crime Map. The Lakeland PD primarily through Chief LePere’s efforts in conjunction with his information team are getting themselves out there in the social media conversation.

When I asked Chief LePere how he see’s social media impacting law enforcement in the future he provided me with an insightful view into his social media perspective. “Social media is a communication revolution” and “Police should not be an occupying army, but part of the community” were two thoughts he mentioned that helped me understand Lakeland PD’s social media direction.

I agree 100% with Chief LePere that social media is a “cultural” change in how people communicate. The statistics show that more people are joining and spending more time on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. People are also turning away from formal news outlets like ABC, NBC, CBS and turning to blogs to get their news. The main reason for this change in media consumption is that people want a more “personal” communication experience. They don’t want one way communication anymore. People desire to be “involved” with the news or conversation. Chief LePere sees the opportunity of engaging citizens of Lakeland and beyond in the social media sites where they are spending time.

Police cannot afford to be seen as “occupying armies” if they ever hope to be effective in the communities they police. Again, I couldn’t agree more with Chief LePere. Just like it takes a village to raise a child it takes a community to keep the peace. By leveraging social media tools Chief LePere and the Lakeland PD are opening up new communication avenues with their citizens. As we have already seen this communication is much more personal in nature. The personal part of social media puts a face and a personality behind the badge and gun, which earns them trust. There is nothing more valuable to a police department than a citizen base that trusts them. It makes information gathering easier, the potential for social disruption less likely, an overall a more effective police department.

Chief LePere and the Lakeland PD are using social media to their advantage, unlike the larger majority of law enforcement agencies that are not yet taking to social media. Although, the Lakeland PD has a good presence in social media they could do more with more resources. This is an age old problem. Social media has not risen to the importance yet where it is going to draw a budget or a larger budget. But, in time I am confident that social media will gain a share in all law enforcement agencies budgets and rightfully so.

Chief LePere, thank you for your time.

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Boca Raton PD Takes Advantage Of Social Media Tools

by Mike Vallez on September 7, 2009

Podcast: Download (Duration: 11:08 — 5.1MB)

A little over a week ago I had the honor of sitting down with Chief Dan Alexander of the Boca Raton PD and his Public Information Officer (PIO) Mark Economou for a discussion regarding social media and law enforcement. The Boca Raton PD is on the cutting edge of social media and it’s implementation of social media tools into their communication platform. Some of the social media tools they are currently using are: Chief’s Corner Chief Dan Alexander’s blog, Viper Communication Platform, Nixel, Facebook, Twitter, videos, etc..

So what is the Viper Communication Platform? The Viper Communication Platform is Boca Raton PD’s overall social media brand or platform. This is where you will find links to the Chief’s Corner blog, Nixel, Facebook, Twitter, news letter subscription, and Florida offender alters registration. This is a great resource for citizens of Boca Raton to choose how they want to be involved in “the conversation” with the Boca Raton PD, up to and including contact with the Chief through the Chief’s Corner Blog.

Most people are aware of what blog’s are, but some of you may not have heard about Nixel . Nixel is a communication tool that Boca Raton PD uses to notify citizens of incidents within their jurisdiction. To use Nixel citizens must register and choose how they would like to be alerted. They can choose email, text, or over the web alerts, which will inform them of traffic accidents, crimes, or other incidents worthy of notification. This is a great approach to be proactive and offer your citizens information that they never would have had in the past. Both technology and social media are the reason Nixel has been created and Boca Raton PD sees the value a tool like this can offer their citizens.

Boca Raton PD further communicates with their citizens through Twitter Bocapolice and Facebook. Boca Raton PD uses these two social media websites for official communication. You will find press releases, wanted person information, crime information, etc. These two social media “big boy” tools just add to the progressive attitude the Boca Raton PD is taking with understanding and implementing social media resources. They understand that their citizens are using these social media outlets and they are putting themselves out there to be involved with their citizens.

The Viper Communication Platform encourages visibility, intelligence, partnerships, education, and resources with the citizens of Boca Raton, Florida. Chief Alexander is reaching out to his community through a variety of social media tools and this is apparently working. Take for example a blog post titled Great Expectations from 08/24/09. This blog post was in response to two negative, but valid email complaints Chief Alexander received regarding notification of crimes that occurred in Boca Raton. The Chief humbly responded to the citizens emails with a sincere blog post admitting the challenge “new media” presents. The Chief did not brush these comments off, but implemented a change into how they communicate past crimes through the Nixel system. This is social media in action and it is working.

My hope is that more police agencies will see the value of how they can be involved with their citizens through social media and respond to their citizens as the Boca Raton PD has. As Chief Alexander realizes you can better police a community that you are involved with and who knows who you are. What does this mean? To build trust with citizens they need to know who the guys are with the badges and guns. Why? Because you gain trust and respect with your citizens and those same citizens will provide you with information when push comes to shove, if they know you and trust you. If they don’t know you and they don’t trust you then you most likely will not get much information if any at all. Social media is a great opportunity for law enforcement to bridge the gaps in communication that have been fostered over the years. I will continue to push and be a proponent of social media being used in law enforcement.

Thank you Chief and Mark for the conversation we had it is great to learn from police executives how social media is impacting their department.

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Mikes Social Media Today: 09/06/09

by Mike Vallez on September 6, 2009

Podcast: Download (Duration: 15:40 — 7.2MB)

Mikes Social Media Today: 09/06/09 a montage of several links referencing social media, social media and law enforcement, and social media and law.

[audio:http://michaelvallez.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/09.mp3]

The Crime Report:This is Why Law Enforcement is Wary of Social Media

Cops2point0.com:Lauri Stevens: The Social Media Policy

Social Media Law Student.com: Online Privacy v. Defamation Law

ConnectedCOPS.net: Making the case for using social media tools in policing

Lawiscool.com: Heather Morrison of CNW Group on Social Media

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Dailysplice Helps Emergency Responders Podcast Real Time!

by Mike Vallez on September 2, 2009

Podcast: Download (Duration: 9:28 — 4.3MB)

Social media occurs through a number of communication platforms, one of my favorites is the podcast. I have been podcasting on CrazyMikesapps for about 7 months now. Podcasting is a very personal form of social media because the listener can hear a podcasters voice as well as pitch. The podcaster’s emotions can even be conveyed through a podcast and video podcast reveal so much more as would be expected, but what is a podcast?

Wikipedia defines podcasts as: A podcast is a series of digital media files, either audio or video, that is released episodically and downloaded through web syndication. The mode of delivery is what differentiates podcasts from other ways of accessing media files over the Internet, such as simple download or streamed webcasts: special client software applications known as podcatchers (like

iTunes, Zune, Juice or Winamp) are used to automatically identify and download new files in the series when they are released, by accessing a centrally-maintained web feed that lists all files currently associated with that particular series. New files can thus be downloaded automatically by the podcatcher and stored locally on the user’s computer or other device for offline use, making it simpler for a user to access episodic content.

A company that is in the podcasting forefront providing a very cool social media tool to emergency responders (to include fire and police officers) is the Dailysplice. The Dailysplice is a podcasting hosting company that takes all the guess work out of setting up your own podcast by setting your podcast up, hosting your podcast, and providing some very cool podcasting solutions to get your message out. The Dailysplice offices are in Victoria, British Columbia and it’s founders are Rian Bowden & Lewis Sobotkiewicz. A majority of the Dailysplices target market are fire departments and law enforcement agencies. One tech savvy solution the Dailysplice offers to it’s customers is the ability to record a podcast from your cell phone. Yes, that is right, from your cell phone. This is especially critical for emergency personnel on the scene of a natural disaster or similar incident where the speed of communication to mass audiences could save lives.

I am a huge fan of podcasting as I have already mentioned because of the intimacy this form of social media offers. Additionally, the portability of taking a digital message with you on your iPhone, smartphone, laptop, etc to listen to at your leisure while on the go is very handy. I am a big fan of the Dailysplice and how their podcasting solution is so beneficial to law enforcement, emergency responders, and national security. I look forward to the future of podcasting and how this communication tool will have an impact in this communication cultural revolution.

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