Comment on Californians Say X Blocked Them From Viewing Amber Alert About Missing 14-Year-Old

umami_wasbi@lemmy.ml ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

• RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Yay, privatization? Just post it to a social media platform so the official org doesn’t have to dedicate IT resources or further effort to it?

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• spongebue@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  I mean, it’s not like people would check that dedicated webpage on their own, and they are less likely to click on that webpage to get the additional details. Just put it on the platform most people are using and don’t add extra steps to see what’s needed.

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  • noodlejetski@lemm.ee ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    if you read the article, you’d find out that the alert linked to the X post. it could be linking to a dedicated webpage instead, which wouldn’t require logging in.

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    • catloaf@lemm.ee ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      It should be linked to another page. Social media should never the be the primary source for anything like this.

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      • lena_be_a_saint@feddit.nl ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

        Yes, use the POSSE principle: post own site, syndicate elsewhere

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      • floofloof@lemmy.ca ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

        Especially Musk’s far-right propaganda platform. Public and media organizations need to stop using it.

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      • paraphrand@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

        Social media should never be someone’s primary website too. IMO. But people are lazy.

        They don’t even want email anymore, they want you to message them with X or Instagram or whatever.

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      • umami_wasbi@lemmy.ml ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

        Not even another page should be the primary source. That page should be a secondary for updates. The alert itself should have included all the actionable details.

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  • spankmonkey@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    Just put it on the platform most people are using and don’t add extra steps to see what’s needed.

    Most, but not all people should be a deal breaker for a public service announcement.

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  • XeroxCool@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    That was my take. Still is, but was before, too, although I have concerns about it. I don’t even use xitter. It’s an unfortunate conundrum and I don’t know the answer. We are clearly seeing the results of channeling government communications through private platforms where information can be gatekept. But what’s the alternative? I agree that the government website should be the primary source and private platforms the secondary source, but, much in the way US-market cars hide the “real” tail lights in/under the trunk in order to put “aux” tail lights on moving trunk/tailgate panels, that’s just not how the general public will use it.

    People want to be entertained. Getting info through private media is the most we can hope for. People don’t want to get real news media, let alone their local government’s attempt at a blog site. I know we get amber alerts direct from the cell network to some unique software on phones, but I imagine rolling out some more-frequent alert system will cause a ton of privacy/freedom backlash crying about being one goosestep away from China.

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    • spankmonkey@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      But what’s the alternative?

      Posting the information on an official page and creating links with summaries on social media.

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    • Dudewitbow@lemmy.zip ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      But what’s the alternative?

      the government hosting their own social media like how some college campus’ have their own mastadon server specifically for their universities news. It’s not like other organizations haven’t already done it before. Spin your own server, and in your alerts, link your own mastodon server, which should not require user login to read.

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• SlopppyEngineer@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Social media has a very good ratio of information spreading versus effort required. It’s also why it’s a popular thing for misinformation and influence campaigns.

  In contrast, if a government agency wants to make a website for this, it probably needs a proposal, budget request, approval by a commission, a bidding process, and other bureaucatic procedures put in place by politicians that wanted to lower spending.

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  • umami_wasbi@lemmy.ml ⁨4⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    And we got news like this.

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