Don't Know Anyone on Twitter? Head for the Nearest Police Department

Remember way back when e-mail was something that only people with certain types of jobs had? Why do so many people doubt that it won't be long before we wistfully think that way about social media, too?

I'm not saying that absolutely everyone will tweet, or that everyone will have a sweet page on Facebook. Heck, Twitter and Facebook may die tomorrow for all I know. Not bloody likely, but if they do, the socialized Internet will live on: keyboard communities sharing lives, opinions and breaking news.

I don't need stats to tell me that society has moved another tick toward true acceptance of the little blue Twitterbird. I have cops. (lower case = officers of the law in general; COPS upper case and you hear deep voices singing {bad boys-bad boys})

In Boston, there's a mini-COPS episode on Twitter whenever police describe their workday. Last May, this tweet went out:

"INJURED OFFICER: Officer from district 4 transported to Beth Israel Hospital, human bite to arm, suspect in custody."

Anyone familiar with Twitter will tell you that a good sense of humor is an majorly good thing to have. @willcady certainly did: she asked @Boston_Police:

"If that was a zombie bite, would you tell us?"

A gold star to the officer who replied, "Yes, absolutely." (That is not him above. I chose a pic with the stock photo data in place so that everyone would understand no police were harmed in production of this blog.

An idea I really love is Boston's Stolen Bikes Initiative that uses Facebook, Twitter and e-mail to alert bike and pawn shops and everyone else to keep an eye out for missing wheels. Doesn't that seem as though it would be an easy model to replicate?

A little more research and I learned that police in Vancouver, Canada supplement the basics with a blog, Behind the Blue Line, and a very well done YouTube channel. In Boca Raton, FL, officers don't use Twitter to simply announce traffic hazards and crime reports. They also share crime prevention and safety tips and use their FB page for 2-way discussion with the folks they've sworn to protect and serve. Boca Raton gets it.

Daily Splice also reported that the Boca Raton PD "also uses Nixle to provide immediate information via text or e-mail during an emergency situation. I hadn't heard of Nixle, and went to check it out. It launched in 2009 and 3,000+ public safety and community agencies have registered to use it in their locales. Registration for both agencies and consumers is free. (My city's PD hasn't signed up for it yet -- has yours?)

Anyway, my final ta-da is to reveal that while you were playing Mafia Wars, the FBI was refining its Facebook page. Not only that, but you can help catch a crook by dropping a widget of the 10 Most Wanted or Bureau videos into your website or blog.
It's the F. B. I., y'all. What more do you need to believe that maybe, just maybe, there's some value in this social media stuff?