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UHDPS Gets Social With Twitter
The University of Houston is a community
that thrives on technology and information,
and the University of Houston Department of
Public Safety wants to make use of both in a
new effort to bolster the public’s awareness
of public safety issues.
Using the social networking site Twitter,
UHDPS will broadcast events and information
of interest to the UH community who sign up
to receive the messages. After signing up
for a free Twitter account at
http://www.twitter.com,
users can follow UHDPS and receive updates
on their cellular phone via SMS, email or
through one of several Twitter applications
for various mobile phone operating systems,
including Windows Mobile, Android and the
iPhone.
One of the lessons learned from Hurricane
Ike is that SMS texting is a fast and
efficient way of getting out important
information, and sometimes, it’s the only
way. UHDPS will not rely on Twitter for its
emergency communications; the innovative
PIER system that is currently used will
continue to fill that duty. Chief Malcolm
Davis hopes that the UH community will see
UHDPS’ use of Twitter as a way of staying
informed about the types of incidents that
occur around campus, and the programs that
may help them to stay safe. “Community
awareness and participation are essential to
a successful crime prevention model” says
Chief Davis. “We want to make sure that our
students know what is going on around them,
and what they can do to take ownership of
their safety.”
UHDPS has been testing the concept since
late last year, and it is now live at
http://twitter.com/uhdps. Those
who choose to participate should remember
that if they elect to receive SMS messages
on their cellular telephones regular text
messaging usage guidelines with their
cellular carrier will apply. Recent updates
can also be seen on the UHDPS website in the
“UHDPS Latest News” section at
www.uh.edu/police.
