About Social Media Today
If you’ve visited Cops 2.0 in the last few weeks, you probably saw that it was down — not once, but twice. If you’re reading it now, you probably also see that it’s gone to a somewhat more minimalist design. Finally, you’ve probably further noticed that the contributor list is gone.
Yes folks, more changes are afoot as of today, Cops 2.0’s second birthday. First, it has returned stateside after its brief run as official blog of the Canadian Association of Police on Social Media. CAPSM founding members realized that they needed a blog that more accurately reflected Canadian laws, culture, and policing; Cops 2.0’s content, however, had been mainly US-focused. CAPSM also thought it made sense for all their content to be housed in one place, which you’ll be able to find at capsm.ca/blog.
I continue to support CAPSM’s research and other work, and am very pleased to have had the opportunity to partner with them. This was a valuable learning experience for both of us — namely, that you can’t always know whether something will work until you actually try it. And then, even if it doesn’t work the way you thought it would, you must tweak.
Which brings me to the second change: scope. When I read articles like this one, which note a statistic that 81% of 700+ U.S. law enforcement agencies are using social media, I can’t help but think back to when I said I was bored with social media.
You see, there are only so many times you can read about some agency’s new Facebook or Twitter account. While these uses are important, they are not and should not be the end of a law enforcement agency’s social media use. That use is in flux, as Gov2.0 blogger Lovisa Williams points out, and the best people to manage that flux are the front-liners themselves.
A number of good blogs and conferences have stepped up to address this, not the least of which is the IACP itself. I think they all have “law enforcement + social media” pretty well covered.
Meanwhile, the more entrenched I become in helping my corporate clients figure out how to use social media, the more I learn about how these tools integrate with other technology and other forms of communication — and how the communication impacts my clients’ business goals.
Cops 2.0’s tagline has therefore changed from “branding police work via social media” to “Communications, Technology & Service.” I want to hear about police technology use in its many different forms, online or offline, and how it impacts communications with your communities, be they on social media or through more traditional channels.
I believe this is the best way to continue to deliver the same high quality content you’ve always gotten, whether it comes weekly or monthly, or somewhere in between. If you want to contribute, so much the better — just let me know.
Meanwhile, thanks for sticking with me over two years. I’m looking forward to the next steps the third year brings!
