New Trends Police Body Worn Cameras Com0011 Part 2

I was having a chat with my brother-in-law who has an extensive background in law enforcement.  I don’t recall how this subject came up but I have a suspicion that i may have raised the issue of what happened in Ferguson, Missouri, and I must raised the issue of Police wearing body cameras.

For the record I have zero knowledge of anything to do with law enforcement, parking tickets notwithstanding.

This is not as straight forward an issue as I might have thought, but i can also see some potential solutions now and in the future.

My brother-in-law raised the following issues

“Through the local Police Services Board, the public ought to be engaged in a conversation about what is acceptable in terms of the use of B.W.C. (body worn cameras), managing expectations, and what, as taxpayers, are they, as the local community, willing to pay for”

At present:

…there is currently a lack of developed policy with respect to the wearing and using of body worn cameras (B.W.C.).  First, it has to be determined  is this a matter of provincial interest, or left to the discretion of each community?

There is more to the issue then just paying for cameras for each officer.

There is the cost of the cameras

There is the cost of maintaining them

Does (is) every on duty police officer issued a B.W.C., or is it restricted (patrol, traffic, tactical, C.I.B., Forensics, Intelligence

There is the cost of transcribing the information for evidentiary use, be it being part of an investigation, or part of court proceedings.

There is the cost of ensuring that innocent people who an officer comes across but are not part of an incident/investigation are blurred out. (i.e. having a person (s) on staff who is trained to deal with the above issues.

There is the cost of purchasing a means of storing the video clips.

There is the cost associated with establishing policies for the collection and use of information gathered

Who determines when and how the camera is turned on and then turned off?

vs

Using the money to have more police officers available

or not increasing budgets at all

First things first

About the community being engaged is a conversation about what is acceptable in terms of the use of B.W.C etc.  This is an issue where Social Media can be a game changer.  A perusal of the Ottawa Police Service Board Website shows that the only opportunity for a two-way conversation occurs is if you want to form a delegation and show up at a meeting.  You can also sign up for a newsletter.  The Toronto Police Services Board has an extensive Social Media Platform.  In fairness the Ottawa Police have developed an App for dealing with police issues (on-line reporting of crime, crime maps, traffic disruptions.)

I’m thinking that one opportunity would be to create a unified policy regarding establishing Social Media Platforms. Admittedly the first step in creating a social Media platform would be to “listen“, using Google, for example to see what people are saying about you. The Optics of this may be problematic, but if it’s on the web, then its fair game.

It’s problematic to look at this incidents that have occurred in the United States from a Canadian Perspective. Having said that, having a social Media Platform may also be beneficial as 2 way communication may result in the Restoration of trust. This is also a benefit of using B.W.C. as it could lead to the “restoration of trust” in Police forces. One of the recurring themes in the shooting of Michael Brown was `was excessive force used. Potentially that question could have been answered had there been a B.W.C. on the Police officer involved. The integrity of the footage may be called into question, but there would be an answer

As for the Civil Liberties “when cameras primarily serve the function of allowing public monitoring of the government instead of the other way around, we generally regard that as a good thing.”

 “Public complaints against officers dropped by 88 per cent compared with the previous 12 months. The use of force by officers fell by 60 per cent.”

The next issue is what I would like to refer to as the cost of doing business“

The statistics above point to an opportunity to save money in a police Departments budget. Less Public Complaints equals less time involved in investigating said complaints. Ditto with having to investigate Use of force complaints. Less time investigating these issues equals more time investigating other complaints

This is where the notion of the “Internet of everything” and it’s impact on this entire issue

“New economic analysis by Cisco reveals that the Internet of Everything is a $4.6 trillion opportunity for global public-sector organizations over the next decade, as a result of cost savings, increased productivity, new revenues and enhanced citizen experiences.”

“Cisco defines the Internet of Everything (IoE) as the networked connection of people, process, data, and things. The benefit of IoE is derived from the compound impact of connecting people, process, data, and things, and the value this increased connectedness creates as “everything” comes online. “

Where the impact of IoE connects with this issue is this. When it becomes a reality each device will have it’s on ip address. This in conjunction with WiFi will allow remote access to a device in real-time. Will this eliminate the need for stand alone data storage and result in cost savings? The down side to this issue will be will it be vulnerable to hacking? Does IoE have the potential to solve some of the issues raised by my Brother in law vis-a-vis costs? Will the advent of IoE result in cost saving by taking automation to a new level. Will the cost of each device and it’s associated peripherals go down because of amped up economies of scale, (i.e. creating an increase in productivity by adding or increasing a factor of production), Only time will tell as this is a blog about future trends

However all of these issues become moot if there is no conversation (will) to engage in changing the status quo, and at the end of the day pay for it

To my mind the last two options that my brother-in-law raised are simply not acceptable. This may be more of an issue in the United States then here in Canada but adding more police officers to any force (may not) will not address the issue of trust. More two-way communication will help solve that problem.

 

 

T

W.

Why Companies Have to Engage in Social Media, even if they don’t think that it’s a good idea

“What do C.E.O.’s think about Social Sales?  My experience tells me they don’t think about it at all.  When it comes to sales models , they’re comfortable with the status quo and their sales teams are selling like it’s 1999.”

The rise of social media has created a new way for consumers to taunt corporate brands:  complaintvertising.  This is the method of buying prominent advertising space on Twitter or Facebook to air a grievance.  When BA lost his fathers luggage and failed to respond to his complaint on Twitter, He took matters into his own hands.   British airways found out the Hard Way earlier this year when Hasan Syed used Twitters self service ad platform to post a promoted tweet, which read “Don’t fly @ British_ Airways.  Their customer service is horrendous”  Mr Syed spent $1000.00 on his Smear campaign and his angry tweets were seen by more than 50,000 Twitter users in the UK and new York markets where his promoted “tweet” ran

The above speaks to a number of issues.  Had British Airways paid more then lip service to their social media sites and actually `listened`to this customer then this whole exchange could have been avoided.  The customer would not have had to spend his own money to get satisfaction and BA would not have had to be subjected to a mountain of Bad Press

This speaks to the issue of `measuring the impact of social media

Because:     People saying Good Things = good

                       People saying Bad Things   = Bad

Here`s a news flash…Having 50,000 people, a percentage of whom are probably well off financially and opinion leaders in two highly competitive markets become aware that your company gives horrible customer service = Bad

Had BA responded with legal action (i.e suing for Libel) that would have created an absolute Public relations poop storm, Monster Corporation trying to crush an individual (Bad).  So it was a lose – lose situation

I would be interested in hearing if anyone has had experience with complaintvertising

Cheers

 

 

Measurement and Monitoring (or read this blog and I will send you a pet frog in the mail).

How do organizations transition from listening to participating?

This is a question that I have been wondering about myself.  What would motivate a company to go from being insular to one that is prepared to engage in two way communication?  Why would a company transition from old school marketing with its easy to understand costs and impacts to one, Social media, that is unknown and whose outcome is , at best , murky, and at worst, might be viewed as dangerous to a companies bottom line.  This is especially true of large organizations.  The larger the organization, with the inference that competition is less of a issue then say a smaller organization, the more aggressive they will be in framing their Brand is a positive light.  The answer and motivation is declining sales and  bad P.R.

Enter McDonalds.  “The McDonalds Corporation is worlds largest chain of Hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 68 million customers daily…” (wikipedia), and yet they have transitioned from a one way communications model, Questions and Answers on a Webb page to a Cutting edge Social Media campaign.  Why would they do this?  McDonald’s as “…it tries to recover from 4 straight months of declining U.S. same store sales” 

McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) “which hasn’t always gotten a warm reception on social media is taking to Twitter, facebook, and YouTube with a Q&a style ad campaign, aiming to dispel the notion that it’s food is unhealthy

This program may ultimately prove to be a defining moment in the world of Social Media.  The success or failure of this exercise may well be instrumental in determining whether corporations  adopt Social Media as a marketing tool or not.  accHow will it be determined whether this program is a success or failure?  Some might say that the use of analytical software such as Social Media Metrics or Google Analytics, which provide information on twitter responses or Social Media traffic stats, will define whether the campaign is a success or failure.  The thing that will get a corporations attention however and will determine whether Social Media will play a role in any future marketing campaigns will be this.  Can a link be created between the campaign and a reversal  ” to …from 4 straight months of declining U.S. same store sales”  and it’s accompanying hit to it’s stock value.  This will determine whether corporations change their opinions about the value of Social Media and whether or not it will have an impact on It’s R.O.I.

The finial word goes to Ben Stringfellow, a spokesperson for McDonald’s U.S.A., who said in a statement “We’re looking forward to engaging in two-way conversations with as many people as possible”

To which I say Bravo

Does their Social Media campaign change how you feel about their food and their restaurants?  Please let me know, and yes your pet frog is in the mail

Cheers

Applied Social Media COM0011

“What are the various ways that Social Media can be applied to Individuals, Government…”

Social Media’s impact on individuals is a seismic change from the past, Facebook notwithstanding.  The whole notion of being your own personal brand manager, the structure that it implies, and it’s impact on creating a career path, is a giant leap forward.  Gone are the day’s of having a C.V., on paper that is mailed out, or sent as an attachment in an email, to a specific company.

Let us deal with how Social Media will impact on government from the top down, not including governments use of wikis as a research tool.  A quick search on the Internet for Government of Canada and “Freedom of Information” requests yields the following headline  ”

Canada Ranks last in Freedom of Information”

“Consider two from the Information Commissioner, Suzanne Leqault quotes pulled from the piece.  Only about 16 percent of the 35,000 requests filed last year resulted in the full disclosure of information, compared with 40 percent a decade ago, she noted.”  http://eaves.ca/2011/01/10canads-ranks-last-in-freedom-of-information. 

This piece of information speaks to an attitude in government that makes implementing Social Media, with its lack of constraint regarding two way communication, unlikely.  Government is all about framing their narrative in the most flattering light in order to get re-elected.  The other problem with government embracing Social Media is that it would involve spending money in order to implement it.  Where does this fall in the overall scheme of things given that the current governments raison d’etre of slashing the deficit.  Would future governments be prepared to spend money on this at the expense of other programs?  The answer may lie in the following article

“Taxpayers spent $14.8 million last year promoting Canada’s Action Plan” http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/federal-ad-spending-exceed-projections/article16503725/ .  This $14.8 million does not include the cost of “focus group” research, nor Polling activities, which I am sure does not run cheap.  Could governments at all levels become more efficient at framing their narrative by using Social Media?  I think so.  By scaling back their use of advertising which a) was state of the art back in 1960 and b) is something that rarely breaks through peoples perceptual blindness anyways, and diverting the money to creating a Social Media Strategy and platform would be a far more effective use of taxpayers money.  Yes it would involve interacting with the masses but it would provide an opportunity for incremental improvement, and would be a huge step forward in managing Scandals/Crisis’.  It would also provide a real time understanding of how a government is perceived by it’s constituents

The major obstacle to overcome in this scenario would be fear.  The need for control can be a major motivator for individuals, never mind structured groups such as political parties.  Need for control is a byproduct of fear.  This need for control is demonstrated by governments unwillingness to react to “Freedom of Information” requests, http://eaves.ca/2011/01/10canads-ranks-last-in-freedom-of-information

Fear also expresses itself in the Canadian psyche as caution

“Canadians tend to be quite cautious, we tend to be risk-adverse.  It takes quite something to push Canadian companies over the line…” http://msn.com/en-ca/money/topstories/canada-business-impatient-for china-growth-as Harper-promotes-trade-ties/ar-AA6wLqK

A sea change in constituents attitudes will be required for Social Media to have any future in government.  This is possible given the fact that Social media has permeated the lives and consciousness of young people and society as a whole.

 

 

Personal Branding and Social Media (COM0011)

Personal Branding and Social Media

or “How Does This Get Someone a Job”

To my mind there are two ways that Social Media can make a positive contribution to society.  One is the interaction between consumers and producers.  Incremental improvement is facilitated by creating a two-way communication between producers, organizations that create goods and services, and consumers, those that pay money for those goods and services..  This cuts two ways.  Producers can add value, cut waste, improve functionality: and by extension, improve revenues for these products.  Consumers can have a hand in improving products but also will benefit from improved quality, lower prices and more functionality of a given product due to the influence of Social Media

The other way that Social Media can have an impact on society is by speeding up the hiring process.  Speeding up the hiring process adds value to a business by helping to keep costs low, by improving productivity, and maybe even keeping employee turnover low.  These benefits have a direct impact on a companies Return on Investment (R.O.I.).  Speeding up the hiring process is a benefit to consumers.  Not having a job has a negative impact on people both psychologically and economically.  You are less inclined to spend disposable income when you do not have disposable income and are having trouble making the rent.  Not having employment opportunities is a failure on the part of society and on the part of business.  No employment opportunities results in people moving to an area where employment opportunities exist, which can create a downward spiral for the area in question.  It’s a failure for business because they cannot or will not allow their business’ to grow.

Social Media is a natural extension to the concept of “Networking”.  The practice of creating relationships between colleagues with the expectation that it will result in more relationships being created with unknown people in the future.  The expectation is that this will help to fulfill current or future needs.  In the past Networking relied on person to person contact which results in the creation of referrals or one person vouching for another.  This process is sped up by Social Media specifically by such sites as Linkedin and Yammer

“LinkedIn www.linkedin.com “allows users to create profiles that are essentially online resumes” and Yammer

“Yammer (www.yammer.com) – Largely used in a business context, Yammer was initially an enterprise microblogging tool for companies to use internally. It evolved into a more open tool, with different interest groups emerging.

The question “How would Social media have changed the way you approached your last job search”  is a relevant one.  Searching through the “Want ads” is not effective as it is usually the last resort on the part of the employer.  Gaining a presence in the “Hidden Job market” http://jobsearch.about.com/od/jobsearchglossary/g/hiddenjobmarket.htm is preferable for both parties.  This is where social media plays a critical role.  Social media creates a critical mass of information.  Employers who are smart will find ways to access then categorize the information, to identify candidates that have the potential to fulfill their current or future needs.

Applicants who are smart will learn to use Social Media in a constructive, productive manner.  Learning how to stand out from the competition by creating an effective “Personal Brand, and developing an effective marketing campaign.

The Brand Called You COM0011Blog Post #1

Personal Branding

I currently work for a retailer of wine and liquor in the province of Ontario as a Product Consultant.  My job is to be knowledgable about wine, spirits and beer.  In order to do this I attend tastings on a bi-monthly basis to evaluate our Vintage release products.  A list of my favourite wines is created and displayed in the store called Keith’s Keeper’s.  I am then required to interact with customers, who often walk into the store with absolutely no idea as to what they want.  I then, through  a series of open-ended questions, find a product that best suits their needs.

In order to understand what I can contribute to the topic area, Personal Branding, I have created my own personal Features (F) and Benefits (B) Model

(F)   Always willing to engage in Continuous Education.

(B)  Knowledgeable about current trends

(F)   Hard working

(B)  Projects are delivered on time and on budget

(F)   Reliable

(B)  Clients don’t have to worry about supervision or productivity

(F)  I believe in the Motto “Fix the problem not the Blame”

(B)  I don’t waste time on engaging in “gotcha”  I will proactively seek out solutions to problems

(F)  Will engage in extra curricular activities, teaching classes, giving presentations

(B)  Not afraid to research something to death

How Do I Create a Narrative “that will make me stand out”

” At the heart of social selling is “story”.  Story is the best way to communicate a message.  Story is the best way to connect with your audience emotionally and when that happens, you get them to act.”

http://smartblogs.com/social-media/2014/02/12/question-for-the-c-suite-whats-your-capacity-for-change/

The way that I can contribute and stand out is to

a)  come to understand what my strengths and weakness’ are

b)  create a concise profile/story

c)  create a focal point, set of guiding principles, or vision statement (i.e something that can be referenced everyday)

d)  live the Vision Statement with integrity

“Vision Statement: (Desired End-State) A one-sentence statement describing the clear and inspirational long-term desired change resulting from an organization or program’s work.”

http://topnonprofits.com/examples/vision-statements/

Following through with this will set me apart from my colleagues

This is my Vision Statement

To be an inquisitive, efficient, customer focused, knowledgeable, socially responsible sales person

First off in order to discuss what a Personal Brand is, it is helpful to define what a brand is

“Brand is the name, term design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one sellers product distinct from those of other sellers”…”In accounting, a brand is defined as an intangible asset”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brand

To my mind Personal Branding wouldn’t even exist without the introduction of Social Media.  Social Media’s ubiquitous nature and it’s use of computers as a platform and as a communicating tool has created a hurricane of change.  Literally, in theory, anyone in the world could communicate with anyone else who has a computer.  Each person becomes analogous to a grain of sand on a beach.  In the past, communication was point to point, and directed at one person, e.g. letters, or to a group of people, e.g. radio/T.V.  Mass communication was difficult, expensive and time-consuming.  People relied on opinion leaders or word of mouth and or gossip, and were relatively anonymous.  The advent of e-mail changed all of this.  What changed was the speed of the communication.  What used to take days now took seconds.  The increase in speed resulted in a faster turn around time.  Replys were instantaneous and people who were not involved in the original communication were quickly added to the list.  All of these changes were a result of the emergence of the computer and the World Wide Web.  Once such things as Modems, which changed analogue signals to a digital format, were made readily available then anyone who could afford it could communicate digitally.  With the introduction of the Web came the Web page and with that came the Blog.   With so much information floating around information overload sets in.  This flood of information becomes a blur, and people’s Perceptual Blindness sets in.

“Inattentional blindness, also known as perceptual blindness, is a psychological lack of attention and is not associated with any vision defects or deficits. It may be further defined as the event in which an individual fails to recognize an unexpected stimulus that is in plain sight.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inattentional_blindness

Information becomes blurred or it all slips into the background,  just as grains of sand are indistinguishable from one another on a beach.  Hence the need for Personal Branding.  How do you get yourself noticed or stand out from the background, without falling prey to the next two (2) issues

The issues that concern me with this are:  Does it create a narcissistic Culture, and where does integrity fit into this?

“Narcissism is the pursuit of gratification from vanity or egotistic admiration of one’s own attributes”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissism

The recurring, often with tragic results, problem is the practise of “young people” taking revealing “photos?” of themselves and posting it to the Internet.

“Study finds that thousands of teens going to extreme lengths for online attention”

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/11/12/study_finds_thousands_of_teens_going_to_extreme_lengths_for_online_attention.html

This entire practice is a direct result of the perceived need for “Personal Branding”

The other issue is one of integrity.  This is not a  new problem, the practice of lying on a resume (C.V.) is an old one.

“People present the version of themselves to the world that they would like to live with.  Most of us don’t wear caps , so we[‘re stuck with LinkedIn resumes and Twitter profiles which often contain self puffery and outright lies as easily detectable to colleagues as those on Gervais’s chest ribbon gallery”

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/11/16/remembrance_day_faker_was_just_like_us_mallick.html

What might be helpful, in a course like this, assuming that I am not jumping the gun, would be to explore the notion of boundaries and limits.

Joining communities in my area of specialization presents a problem.  My, The company has a set of “Employee guidelines on Social Media Activity”

“Employees are prohibited from engaging in any conduct on social media that is:…communication by, or on the behalf of…, or expressing the views of…”

Administration Manual, revised November 2012

Having said that if I was to have a presence on Social Media, the sites that I would attempt to join for the purposes of creating Web pages on would be as follows

The National Capital Sommelier Guild, Wine Align, and Natalie MacLean’s Wine Reviews and Ratings.

I would choose these sites because, they are specific to the Ottawa area, and admittance would be relatively easy, given my relative anonymity  Gaining access would involve the following steps.  Enroll/join the organizations, attend some meetings to get a sense of the organization and to attend tastings.  I would also concurrently set up a blog and or a Web Page ideally speaking about my selections for up coming releases.  I could obtain more fodder for my Blog by attending meetings and tastings, as well as make opinion leaders aware of my Blog/Web page through Person to Person contact.  Exposure on the sites would result in increased customer interaction which would result in building a reputation (Personal Brand), which would further increase traffic to my sites