UK Police on YouTube Subscribers and Views Survey Feb 2017

Most UK Police Forces make videos and use YouTube as a means to store and share messages.

On the 17th Feb 2017, I did a little survey. Two data counts - Channel Views and Subscribers.

You can take a copy of the data sheet (as a pdf) and see the charts.

How the BBC have a major problem linking to YouTube videos like David Holmes and Aysha King

clicking this image will open all in the lightbox

On the 4th Sep 2014, +Norfolk Police and +Suffolk Police posted a video on youtube called David's Story: Road Safety Campaign. 

Two days later, it's had over five million views (6.2 million as I publish this post, 7.3m as Sun 7 Sep 2pm uk, 9m on Mon 8 Sep at 12 noon uk, 12m 11 Sep, 5 Oct 14,095,686).

UK Police Social Media Survey Aug 2014 twitter facebook youtube The #SMILECon Edition

Chief Inspector Kerry Blakeman of WMP

Next month will see +West Midlands Police host the first ever #SMILECon in the UK - Social Media, the internet and Law Enforcement (9 - 11 Sept 2014, Tally Ho Conference Centre, Birmingham, UK).

For the press release, visit Bringing local policing to a living room near you (5 Aug 14). The list of #SMILECon event speakers includes Chief Simon Cole from +Leicestershire Police UK and Deputy Chief Peter Sloly of the +Toronto Police Service.

UK Police Social Media Survey Feb 2014 One Year On Twitter Facebook YouTube Google+ by Mike Downes

One year ago, I made a post looking at how UK Police Forces were using Social Media (14 Jan 2013).

Welcome to the annual Feb 2014 Survey where you will find six charts and a video. If I were you, click on the first image and scroll through the charts (they should open in a light box), then have a read of this text if you need to.

UK Police on Social Media June 2013: #WMPLIVE at YouTube with West Midlands Police

Photo Credit West Midlands Police

Here's the June 2013 UK Police on Social Media post.  We have three charts for twitter, facebook and YouTube.

In video, there have been some changes at YouTube which now allow anyone with over 1,000 subscribers to have a LIVE Events Channel. So far, three UK forces are eligible: Greater Manchester, Metropolitan and West Midlands Police.

UK Police Forces on Social Media - April 2013 Survey It's about Culture not Technology in Blended Reality

Met Police Marine Policing Unit

Here's the April 2013 Survey looking at UK Police on Social Media (data sheet). 

In celebration of The Metropolitan Police passing 100,000 Twitter followers, I've added a Marine Policing Unit slide. You can watch the Met's own video of thanks at the end of this post.

There's not much news about the twitter numbers this month, still growing at a healthy rate. Facebook is where the action is with sixteen forces above 20% growth. I hold my hands up as a facebook novice, so if anyone wants to dig deeper and say why there are so many likes, be my guest.

I've titled this post Culture not Technology as it's about the Social Interaction and the Storytelling as opposed to anything else. We live in a Blended Reality where we have Media Literate Citizens equipped with creative skills to communicate with a Modern World.

To understand the facebook numbers will involve looking at each story and seeing the patterns. In my view, that's the manual labour of reading and thinking about each post, not a quick click on some data visualisation tool. I cannot say enough how people, for some reason, do not spend enough time slowing down and taking one thought at a time.

Last month, I focussed on YouTube and the new One Channel. If Culture dictates, we do not need YouTube, then so be it. But as 25% of YouTube is watched on mobiles, another 25% on screens larger than thirty inches and users swapping devices twenty seven times a day - Video is exploding.

This month's YouTube slide shows nothing more than three four forces streaking out ahead. It need not be this way. I have been working with a new company called Zoom.us who provide a 25 user face to face video platform. It is truly breathtaking and available on PC and Mobiles. All Police would benefit from giving it a try. Google+ hangouts are another way, especially LIVE at YouTube.

If you've read this far, then let me finish with how I've spent the last six weeks force feeding myself Media Studies theory. I've read a bunch of texts and even more wikis on everything from Audience Theory to The Public and it's Problems (1927).

We've come a long way. When Lincoln was assassinated, it took twelve days for the news to reach England. Nowadays, it's realtime everything.

When Paris Brown was appointed (and resigned) as Youth PCC, twitter had every part in it (link to News), it was all over, in what seemed like a few hours. For me, it's stories like this that emerge from nowhere, reach a critical point and eventually simmer.

And as for the Boston Marathon, many were saying, I heard about it first on Twitter (link to articles). And camera phones are playing a major part in supplying the visual clues to catch those responsible (link to FBI).

Here's the Met Police 100,000 Twitter Followers video of thanks ..

UK Police Forces on Social Media - March 2013 Survey Anyone can become their own Media Company

Photo Credit WMP Papal Visit

Here's the third in the series of UK Police on Social Media. As usual, we have the Google Docs Data Set. I make no excuses, it's starting to look a tad messy, that's why I produces a few charts and talk you through them.

All the data is gather by me clicking through and copy, pasting the numbers. It helps me make sense and look for the patterns. Having APIs gathering data is fine, but the more statistics, the less you read.

UK Police Forces on Social Media - The February 2013 Survey

A month ago, I published The January 2013 Survey. Here we are, with a bunch of new data and already a revelation with the UK Police passing One Million Twitter followers (reported on this blog yesterday).

On that post, there are a few charts and a closer look at the West Midlands Police as they rose by 37%.

New this month, are a few stacked charts where you can see in blue the January numbers, and in red the followers gained from mid Jan to mid Feb 2013.

UK Police Forces Pass One Million Twitter Followers with West Midlands Police Increasing by 37% in the Past Month

Last month, I published the UK Police Forces using Social Media. I'm updating the data every month, but bring you this special post about Twitter as three facts emerge:

1, The total number of followers to all UK Police Official Twitter Accounts is now at 1,041,850.

2, West Midlands Police has seen a 37% increase in followers from 50,101 to 68,793 in the last month.

UK Police Forces using Social Media: Twitter, facebook, YouTube, Google+ and Hangouts On Air - The January 2013 Survey by Mike Downes

Aug 14 edit For the latest UK Police on Social Media, visit: search/label/police or uk police social media survey Aug 2014 with two posts on uk police youtube (11 Aug/50 forces compared and  12 Aug 14/ top 10 most viewed videos).

14 Jan 13 This is the first post in a series looking at the UK Police and how they use Social Media. It's not so much a Survey, but a collection of what's public and putting it all in place.

All I've done is ask a few obvious questions, looked on the web to see what I want (which doesn't seem to be there), so decided to make one data centre for the fifty three forces, see what patterns there are and ask some larger questions.

Emergency Services Show 2011 at Stoneleigh

I will be attending the Emergency Services Show 2011 tomorrow at Stoneleigh Park, nr Coventry UK.

It will be a great chance to meet people passionate about Social Media. Here is Last Year's show. My focus is clear, Real Time Communication with the Public. Way Cool if Google had a stand..

+Simon Shilton Fire and +Kerry Blakeman Police will be there too, so be sure to find us..

Google+ Hangout with @SuptPayneWMP post Keynote from the UK

Following on from the last post it's +Kerry Blakeman and +Mike Downes arriving from within the Hangout to hit the big screen in Dallas, Texas at the #SMILEcon (Social Media in Law Enforcement). Once again, Kerry was on an iPhone. There are no boundaries with Media now..

Thanks to +Lauri Stevens +Scott Mills and all those watching. Can do it too - Yes You Can ..

Supt Mark Payne talks Social Media Policing LIVE from Dallas Texas

Tweeting from the Frontline: Social Media and Public Order from Mark Payne, Superintendent, West Midlands Police

Superintendent Payne will cover a brief history of Social Media and Police in UK, including case studies where he has used social media during disorder events and lessons that he gained from use during those events.

West Midlands Police and Fire LIVE on YouTube - Getting Closer to the Community through Social Media

Michael, Kerry and Simon

I met with CI Kerry Blakeman and Fire Commander Simon Shilton earlier this evening to discuss Google Plus. Little did I know that a hangout with Michael Mozart of Fail Toys would end with a LIVE broadcast from the Jeepers Media Channel (which over 400,000 worldwide subscribers).

Michael Mozart was in Fairfield County, Connecticut (Near New York, USA) while Kerry and Simon were in Coventry Police Station. I will let Michael tell you how historic this live event turned out to be.

The importance of using Social Media for engaging the community, increasing community confidence in Public Services.

This video is unlisted, only those with the link can see it: http://youtu.be/mFeRJnkRsgk

The rise and rise of Sangat TV - what is the technical kit behind the camera?

Sangat TV has risen this week into meteoric stardom. I've heard mutterings from other media types on how impressive their work has been and asking questions like how do they do that? 

In this post, I want to explore the how we can all produce a TV station if we wanted to here in Warwickshire and Coventry.

To stream live video over the internet, you only need a standard laptop, webcam and WiFi connection, that's it. CI Kerry Blakeman from West Midlands Police has been using a combination of live and pre-recorded video clips armed with nothing more than an iPhone.

Sangat TV was only launched in September 2010, broadcasts on Sky 847 and justin.tv. Ut's a Sikh lifestylke channel and is owned by the Sangat Trust. By now, many people know of their heartfelt and charismatic presenter Upinder Randhawa.

So, although I have an email out to Sangat TV, I fully expect them to be far too busy to reply - sure they will when all becomes measured and calm. 

It appears Sangat TV use LiveU technology which is supplied by Nuneaton's Garland Partners. For those new to this (like me), we usually see a minivan from the BBC, Sky or ITV parked outside a court house with a satellite dish the size of a small trampoline pointing to the clouds. Reporter talks to camera, camera beams to minivan to satellite to studio to out TV screens.

But not any longer, as this tweet confirms what I was thinking: Birmingham Riots covered last night using @LiveU 3G mobile backpacks supplied by @GarlandPartners, fab coverage in the heart of the action!

And yes, I have a call out to Garland Partners to find out who else, if any in Warwickshire and Coventry are using this kind of kit. For those still reading, we have a Portable Uplink Unit transmitting multiple mobile data to a cellular carrier to a server which is then streamed to web, TV or smartphone. 

About six weeks ago, at Godiva 2011, CI Kerry Blakeman was reporting local policing video updates from War Memorial Park. Behind the scenes, we were all trying to find out the best way to upload good video content without broadband/WiFi - and there wasn't one. But, now with a little thought and planning, I'm sure we all can club together and make Warwickshire and Coventry it's own TV station. 

I'm sure Sangat TV will help out with some advice. I have no idea about costs, but I think for 835 million people in this area, local TV could be an option.

If you have any contribution to make in this discussion, please leave a comment or email. Links: Sangat TV, liveu.tv/technology and Garland Partners.

UPDATE from Sangat TV from Twitter (Sat, 6pm): @wiKenilworth Thanks! whatsinkenilworth.com/2011/08/rise-a… Sangat TV will be in touch soon! @UpinderRandhawa

Update from @christopherw (Sun 3.43am): @wiKenilworth 3 things you need to know: 1) only two real competitors, TVUPack & LiveU 2) they're all VERY expensive 3) No really, VERY!

The Godiva Festival 2011 in War Memorial Park Coventry 1-3 July

The Coventry Godiva Festival 2011 starts on Friday 1 July (for three days). For those people who want to find out more, there is every imaginable Social Media tool available - a real example to the rest.

Before it all starts, we're supported by a photo album, twitter account @godivafestival and the official hashtag #covgodiva. Content can also be shared across any platform with the public invited to send in photos as the festival unfolds.

The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizens - Do they mean us?

I'm telling you right off the bat - I'm no trained journalist. If you are, then look away now - then again, look back, as the updated version of The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Understand has an extra Chapter called, The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizens. 

edit: 14 Sep 2014 as there's a new version of the book available dated April, 2014, (see amazon).

April 2014 with red banner

This post's all about how People are now empowered to become players in the news game like never before. This means, they have the opportunity to form new relationships with journalists and be a part of the news process. For example in years gone by, a print newspaper was available to read. That reader had no part in shaping what was on that page. Now you do - this is where the responsibility of the Citizen starts to take shape.

So, what does this mean to the people of Kenilworth and Warwickshire? It's all about what we expect from our news organisations and what we should do if we believe we aren't getting it. In the beginning, so I'm told, there was a journalist's bill of responsibilities (The Elements of Journalism) - now there's a citizen's bill of rights.

It works like this. Receive some news from print, web, radio or TV. Compare it against some ideas and values: whether it was truthful, loyal to the people, independent and monitors power correctly. One up to date method is to see if the news provider can interact with people in may public channels (phone, letters, email, social media like twitter, comments on a website or live discussions). It's amazing to think some news people do not attend public meetings any more. The people should now expect to add content themselves, turn up to events and be part of that discussion.

And lastly, comes proportionality and engagement which can be explained as news people reporting the significant parts of a story, in the proportion that matters most in the people's lives. Quite a tall order to get right.  

Further Reading: For an example of how the public contributed on 7 July 2005, see Citizen Journalism and the BBC by Richard Sambrook, ‘…when major events occur, the public can offer us as much new information as we are able to broadcast to them. From now on, news coverage is a partnership.’

The Elements of Journalism

• Journalism's first obligation is to the truth.
• Its first loyalty is to citizens.
• Its essence is a discipline of verification.
• Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover.
• It must serve as an independent monitor of power.
• It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise.
• It must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant.
• It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional.
• Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience.

Footnote: As usual, I welcome any comments, especially on this post. The area of effective news gathering fascinates me. So, which ever side of the news desk you're from, get in touch. Be as much a part of this post as I am.

Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service unveil a new Uniform, wait that's not the story

Warks Fire Rescue New Kit

There are places that bloggers can reach where others cannot (just yet). Something's not quite uniform.

Warwickshire Fire and Rescue have a new kit, there was a press release yesterday from the WCC website: Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service unveil new kit!. Within that text, there was a photo and a link to a YouTube video (but no title or the video) and a further link to the @warksfirerescue twitter account.

At 3.20pm (23 May) came this tweet from @warksfirerescue: Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service launch New Fire Kit.http://tinyurl.com/3nt2dgw. See them in action athttp://tinyurl.com/3olusok and then another tweet at 4.18pm from @wcc_news Photo: Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service launch new fire kit. http://twitpic.com/51jfch

So, can we have the photo, the text and the video all in one place - yes we can. It's now Blogged.

Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service unveil new kit!

Monday 23rd May, 2011 

Warwickshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service are launching its new fire kit, showing ‘it’s firefighting, but not as we know it!’

The gold coloured personal protective equipment (PPE) with its sci-fi looking heat reflective visor, replaces the dark blue uniforms residents are used to seeing. The new design has been created to withstand the toughest environments and to recognise the extreme conditions in which PPE is worn. The new kit includes helmet, heat reflecting visor, gloves, boots, tunic and trousers. 

Chief Fire Officer Graeme Smith said:

“Firefighter safety is one of our top priorities and whilst the new kit may look a little different, it will provide our firefighters with the very latest in PPE technology, ensuring that they are protected against some the most extreme environments. The tunics consist of three protective layers – an inner thermal barrier, a moisture barrier and an outer material that is tougher and more flame resistant.”

The uniforms were bought as part of a national procurement strategy which was established by the ODPM (now Department for the Communities) in 2005. This project has allowed fire and rescue services across the country to invest to standardise national specifications and maximise procurement savings.

Cllr Richard Hobbs, Portfolio Holder for Community Protection, said

“I think the new fire kit looks great. Obviously I am pleased that we have been able to procure such a good deal nationally via the Firebuy project, whilst at the same time providing our firefighters with a high quality fire kit which will allow them to work more effectively even when exposed to hostile conditions such as fire and floods.”

In addition to the new fire kit, the service has also invested in more thermal image cameras which help firefighters see through smoke to identify the source of a fire and powerful torches with LED technology. See the uniforms on-line at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3EM18XGhPU

For more information on Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service please log onto www.warwickshire.gov.uk/fireandrescue or follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/warksfirerescue

Social Media v Industrial Media v Web 2.0 - is there a difference?

Social Media by khalid Albaih

It seems the phrase Social Media is everywhere. Not so long ago, everyone was talking about Web 2.0 as the next big thing and as for Industrial Media - what's that all about? Let me tell it in my own words, with a little help from Wikipedia: Social Media.

When people talk about Web 2.0 they usually mean where information is published (like a news website) and then a reader can interact with it (by leaving a comment).

Social Media, from my understanding, is the same as Web 2.0, but came along a little later in time. It seems, that in November 2009, Social Media overtook Web 2.0 as main phrase. Google Insights for Search shows this here:

Social Media can be made by people (like you and me) very quickly, inexpensively and shared to everyone. I wrote about this a year ago in Here Comes Everybody (by Clay Shirky) when it was called Mass Amateurization. Years ago, you needed a printing press and a few hundred people to form a newspaper - all you need now is a laptop, wifi connection and a cheap digital camera.

However, Industrial Media (like newspapers, television and films) is costly and time consuming to produce. But, there are some common traits such as Reach (reaching small or large audiences), Accessibility, Usability, Immediacy and Permanence (see Wikipedia to read more).

There are various statistics that account for social media usage and effectiveness for individuals worldwide. Some of the most recent statistics are as follows:

• Social networking now accounts for 22% of all time spent online in the US.^[8]
• A total of 234 million people age 13 and older in the U.S. used mobile devices in December 2009.^[9]
• Twitter processed more than one billion tweets in December 2009 and averages almost 40 million tweets per day.^[9]
• Over 25% of U.S. internet page views occurred at one of the top social networking sites in December 2009, up from 13.8% a year before.^[9]
• Australia has some of the highest social media usage statistics in the world. In terms of Facebook use Australia ranks highest with almost 9 hours per month from over 9 million users.^[10][11]
• The number of social media users age 65 and older grew 100 percent throughout 2010, so that one in four people in that age group are now part of a social networking site.^[12]

The fascinating attraction to Google Insights for Search (and GoogleTrends) is the ability to play around with search terms. Here are Email, Gmail, Twitter and MSN compared. A few years ago MSN (instant chat) was a real buzz word - look at the chart and draw your own conclusions.

Here are some Examples I use at wiK: Communication Tools (like Gmail and Blogger), Microblogging (like Twitter and Foursquare).  Multimedia: Picasa, YouTube, Livestream (Twitcam), Audacity and Audioboo.

As a footnote, if you were following the @wiKenilworth twitter stream last week, you would have seen #BBCdigjo which was the pilot BBC Digital Journalism Social Media Training Course in London. The BBC were kind enough to share their story on Twitter.

#BBCdigjo Social Media Course from Sue Llewellyn and the BBC