Technology trends usually begin in Asia and Europe, with social media trends following suit. Lately, there have a slew of arrests made in Asian countries for status updates people are leaving on their social media sites. The two cases I look at in this blog post both occurred on Facebook.

The first case comes from Today Online “Man being investigated for allegedly inciting violence online” in regards to status updates Abdul Malik Mohammed Ghazali left on Facebook. The Singapore police arrested Ghazali for making comments on his Facebook page in regards to “burning” a certain prime minister for various incidents Ghazali felt this prime minister was responsible for.

Another individual in Thailand spoke out against the Royal Thai Family and was arrested under a specific Thai law, “Man Arrested After Lese Majeste Facebook Comment (original blog post by US Asian Correspondent). Both these incidents were in Asian countries and happened within the last month.

This sparks interest to see how this will eventually pan out in the United States. The statements made by the men arrested above may have been violations of law in the countries of incident, but how will this play out in the United States? We have elections coming up and people get very upset and angry over politics. If you say the wrong thing on your Facebook page or Twitter profile, about a candidate, the President, etc. you may have the Secret Service knocking on your door.

The United States is based on “Free Speech,” but there are also laws that prevent individuals from alluding to committing violent acts against individuals even if they are not an elected leader. This story has not been written yet and I feel there is plenty of case law that will result from the numerous future arrests for violations of this nature. MV

Having children is a rather big decision in an individual or couple’s life. After all, bringing a new life into this complex world should not be taken lightly. Add to that the responsibility a parent has for their child, a responsibility that never ends. Then there are the teenage years.

If you have children and you have walked through the teenage years already, then please provide comments for the rest of us to learn from your experiences. For the rest of us, I will provide as much insight as I can into how my wife and I are raising three teenage daughters ages 15, 14, and 12. Technically the twelve year old is not a teen, but she has become a “tween” and frankly this is close enough. The examples provided are also useful from a business perspective. The many leadership strategies I have learned at work have helped me to manage my children better and vice versa.

I chuckle every time someone asks me if I have any children. My response is, “yes three daughters.” The next thing the person usually says is “I hear boys are easier to raise.” This always makes me feel a little defensive, but truthfully I think they are, at least in the teenage years. I remember when my daughters were little girls (pre-tween and teenage). The girls were easy to manage, dressing them was simple, feeding them meals was a breeze, and haircuts were non-events, overall life raising little girls was great. Then the “tween” years rolled around and things began to change.

Once the “tween” years began, the girls became more difficult to deal with, they weren’t the little girls of past. Situations like a simple dumb statement from me like “your hair is kind of weird today” would cause a melt down in any of my daughters. It would take me a half hour or more to convince them I don’t know anything about hair and that they should generally listen to their mother on those important issues.

Here are four tips that I have found useful while working and raising teenagers:

1) Communication is Key – Teenagers want to talk and a lot of the time they do not have anyone to whom they can talk. Yes they have friends, but they don’t always want to confide in their close friends for fear of being rejected. One of the hardest things I had to do in my work life was to make time for my children when they wanted to talk. Don’t be shy. Ask your kid if he or she wants to talk about something, when as a parent you can tell there is something wrong.

2) Listening Wins Them – You can make the time to talk with your child, but if you are not invested in what they are actually saying, they will know. Take time to step back, listen, ask questions, and dads don’t always try to fix your daughter’s problems. I have learned this the hard way. I work from home and listening with interest has been hard for me at times. I will have pressing deliverables, projects, or the like, and feel distracted when one of my daughters and I may be having a really important conversation. Close your laptop and don’t answer your phone, listen.

3) Meet Them Where They Are – Find out what your teenager likes to do and participate in that, even if it is going to a Taylor Swift concert. This bridges the gap between parent and teen, building good experiences into the relationship.

4) Be Involved - Being a retired cop I have no problem checking my daughters’ cell phones for text message content. I also check to see when they were texting from the phone records to make sure it was not all night. Ask them point blank questions about drugs, alcohol, etc because they are exposed to so much more than you know while in middle and high school. You can learn a lot about your kids by finding out with whom they are spending time. Heck, I have done quick background checks through the courts on some of the friends of my daughters’ parents, just saying.

The above tips can be applied to anyone’s work environment, just replace children with “customer,” “co-worker,” or “supervisor” and win people over with the four tips above.

I don’t pretend to have raising teenagers completely licked, but I am learning. I don’t always live by the four tips above because I work a lot and get caught up in that world. But, I try to do my best and make sure my kids know that because they are not going to be teenagers living in my house forever. My goal is to prepare them to be adults and being involved with them is the best shot I have at doing this. MV

Update: 08/09/10 - The failure mentioned in this post was from a personal Twitter persona standpoint. This article chronicles how I lost my way Tweeting on my personal Twitter account with friends, associates, and people I meet on a daily basis. From a corporate perspective I see Twitter activity based on scalability and mission. Additionally, the intent of this blog post is to have a follow-up post that chronicles how I successfully regained my positive Twitter persona in 4 Easy Steps, look for this in a day or two. MV

Prior to 02/2009 I never participated in any social networking sites. Then a friend introduced me to WordPress blogging and Twitter. The result was an injection of social networking into my life that I had never experienced before. I became an active Twitter persona Tweeting daily and meeting new people regularly. There was a satisfaction of connecting with people all over the world with like thoughts and sometimes argumentative thoughts. All the same I was having conversations daily with cool people all who I met on Twitter. Then something happened that one would expect would increase a social networkers presence on Twitter.

July of 2009 I was transitioned into a full-time position as “Social Media Strategist.” Initially, I found myself Tweeting as I had prior to assuming this title, but slowly over a period of 6 or 7 months I fell off the Twitter grid. My failure was not due to lack of social networking enjoyment, it was due to scalability. During this time I had created 2 more personal Twitter accounts and 4 corporate Twitter accounts. As most of you know, trying to keep conversations going on 7 different Twitter accounts is impossible, even using TweetDeck, Seesmic, HootSuite, etc.

Here is how I failed in 4 easy steps:

1) Lost my purpose - The purpose of social media/social networking is to build community and community comes first. The minute you take your eye of this purpose in the social realm you may as well close your Twitter account. I took my eye off community in exchange for a larger community. Due to scalability I #Failed at building community and I lost my purpose on Twitter.

2) Too Many Twitter Accounts – The time it takes to cultivate and nurture conversations on a Twitter profile is significant. To continue an authentic conversation requires time and when I became responsible for 7 Twitter accounts I became overwhelmed. Granted 4 were outward facing communication channels, but nonetheless this contributed to my Twitter #Fail.

3) Went On Auto Pilot – Using HootSuite or another Twitter client to schedule Tweets is great, but once I traveled down this path it led me to lessen my non-automated Twitter activity. I let my accounts become robotic and people don’t respond to this type of social networking interaction. Even if your a Twitter celebrity, people are quickly able to discern the difference between an auto tweet and a real tweet. People want authentic conversations and by going automatic I #Failed.

4) Lost Interest – I know what your thinking, you #Failed on Twitter because you just got bored with it? No, I lost interest due to the 3 reasons above. My Twitter conversations dwindled and people lost interest in me plain and simple. I took myself out of the conversations and found myself a little lost trying to get back into the conversation.

People are smart and those on Twitter want to be engaged with other’s or they would not be there. Once you lose purpose, try to manage too many Twitter accounts, go on auto pilot you will loose interest in your Twitter activities. The simple reason is we as people can only focus on so many things and doing the above causes things to go out of focus. I encourage you to avoid the 4 steps I list above and keep your Twitter interest alive and well. MV

Facebook continues to morph into the most massive social networking site known to man. As of a few days ago according to Facebook Statistics there are now over 500 million user accounts on this social networking monster. The amount of people on this site and the time people are participating (700 billion minutes monthly) on this site are phenomenal. Law enforcement as well as other business models have a huge opportunity to communicate with shareholders and constituents in this flourishing communication platform. A recent article by Muhammad Saleem on Mashable shows the number of Facebook users in the US and major US cities.

US Law enforcement agencies in particular have a huge opportunity to engage with their constituents. As you can see below New York has almost 4 million Facebook users Chicago, Los Angeles, and Houston have approximately half their populations using Facebook and Philadelphia has approximately 100% of their population using Facebook.

Based on my experience in police work I personally see a huge value add in engagement with Facebook users by law enforcement. Law enforcement agencies have the opportunity to communicate their mission, crime prevention information, crimes in progress, wanted person information and the like for free on Facebook. The startling numbers of users on Facebook in Philadelphia alone would cause me as a detective to use Facebook as a location to potentially cultivate leads on criminal cases. The Facebook numbers are growing, at the time Muhammad Saleem developed the above graphics for Mashasble the Facebook population was just over 400 million. The numbers above are surely higher now and show no sign of slowing down.

Law enforcement agencies need to do more than set up a Facebook fan page, they need to engage and grow a community using their Facebook fan page. Law enforcement has a huge opportunity to engage people where they spend time and right now in the US it appears almost half the population is spending large amounts of time on Facebook. MV

Two days ago I attended the joint funeral of David Curtis and Jeffrey Kocab, Tampa Police officer’s gunned down in the line of duty on 06/29/10. This is not the first joint double Tampa police officers’s funeral I have been two, but I hope it is my last. In 05/1998 I attended the funeral of Randy Bell and Ricky Childers who were also gunned down in the line of duty. I have never forgotten that funeral and I will never forget the Kocab/Curtis funeral. I knew and worked with Randy Bell, but did not know Ricky Childers other than his reputation, which was stellar. I also did not know Jeff or David, but after yesterday’s funeral I felt as I could have been one of them and “there before the grace of God go I.”

Both Jeff and David were exceptional police officers who died valiantly at the hands of a monster. The monster who would later give himself up was wanted for at least one other homicide, but may also have been connected to as many as three other homicides. One has to wonder what goes through an individual’s mind to decide that taking the life of not 1 but 2 police officers to evade arrest only to turn oneself in a few days later. Apparently not much! Not remorse, not compassion, not hope, surely just plain lack of conscience. The rest of us rational thinking people wonder to ourselves that if only he gave up and went to jail. He would have been charged with fewer crimes and there would be two families who would not be forever crushed by the loss of two good men. But that is not how it played out and now the aftermath for the families, TPD, and the community.

As I sat through the funeral with my family a flood of thoughts raced through my mind. As I looked across the sanctuary at Idlewild Church I saw thousands of law enforcement officers supporting the families, TPD, and law enforcement in general. There is no other profession that seems to bind individuals together more than law enforcement. Probably because the culture and brotherhood that is developed by individuals who choose this type of career. People asked me why did you go to the funeral, did you know them? No, I did not know Dave and Jeff, but really I did know Dave and Jeff. I know that Dave and Jeff like all other law enforcement officers are not just tough guys/gals with a badge. They are two guys that choose to make a difference in this world by the profession they choose, law enforcement. They got up went to work even though they knew the dangers of the job like the rest of us. They did not dwell on the danger or they would have been unable to cope with the tasks at hand. They did their job as they were trained. Don’t think for a second that lack of training or error on their part led to their deaths. Sometimes evil wins a battle. But in the end justice prevails, although bruised. There is no police training that can cover all dangerous situations police encounter. Things happen fast on the street and decisions are made by both bad guys and good guys that forever change lives. Jeff and David were two brave guys who loved what they did and were very good at doing it. They did their job on 06/29/10 and did it well. They ultimately should get credit for the arrest of the monster who killed them because it was their original attempted arrest that set a chain of events in motion that would take an unidentified serial killer off the streets of Tampa.

The families that have become fatherless, husbandless, childless as a result of this horrible tragedy will be healing for a long time to come. They will need the support to fill the void left by the loss of their love one’s. All of us can help these families and it is our job as a community to help them. Please, if you feel compelled donate to the Kocab/Curtis fund at Tampa Bay Federal Credit Union just follow this link: http://tampabayfcu.org/

I had the opportunity to attend the WIRED Business Conference, Disruptive by Design, on Monday 06/14/10 as a guest of Altegrity Risk International (ARI) Chairman Bill Bratton. He was one of the featured speakers at this conference. WIRED magazine is one of the most respected technological magazines of all time, and is touted as the first truly on-line international publication. Naturally, they are a good fit to oversee a conference focusing on the disruption of current and trending technologies.

Bill Bratton did a live interview during the conference… live in the fact that it was posted and sent out to all of WIRED’s subscriber and partner networks. As one of the nation’s most renowned law enforcement leaders, due to his success in both NYC and LA where he served as police commissioner and chief of police respectively, Bill Bratton was a natural choice for a conference of this kind. The main reason? A great deal of his success was due to crime busting system he pioneered called CompStat. CompStat is an analytical solution that provides real-time intelligence to law enforcement personnel in the field, and in the patrol car, so they can attack hot spots of criminal activity. As Chief Bratton explained how he used “push-pins” and “transparent charts” in CompStat’s early days a hush fell over the tech savvy crowd. Bratton then detailed how in the early 90’s he began to use a top-of-the-line computer for the day, which he purchased from Radio Shack. It was a Commodore 640. This drew applause from the audience and marked Bill as “one of those pioneers of the good old days.”

The method of attacking little crimes in neighborhoods is one of the CompStat systems key components and a big reason for the success of this law enforcement, crime busting ideals. During the interview with Chief Bratton, WIRED contributing editor Noah Shachtman, who also works at the Brookings Institution, kept prodding Bill with questions about the authenticity of the data surrounding CompStat. Shachtman directly asked the Chief how he could be certain the data was not being manipulated. Bratton, hesitated for just a second then replied that they “killed anyone who manipulated the data.” The auditorium erupted in applause and laughter, an outburst from the audience that had not been seen or heard at the conference.

Bill Bratton did an excellent job of demonstrating how “old school” police work with an analytical and accountable system better known as CompStat has effectively reduced crime. One of the best compliments Chief Bratton received was from WIRED Senior Editor Jason Tanz, who sat next to me during Bratton’s interview. Tanz at one point mentioned to me “this guy is great.”

What exactly is considered private when it comes to social media and social networking? Since becoming involved in social media about a year and a half ago I have been a little astonished at what people share about themselves. MySpace has been the social networking website where both men and woman pushed the limits on how much skin is showed in uploaded pic’s. Seems like Facebook has surpassed MySpace with lack of clothing pic’s due to the shear number of users 465,564,340 (via http://www.checkfacebook.com/) and the numerous men and women in their undies, bikinis, or less.

I am not a prude and am not against girl’s in bikinis (not into guys in underwear), but there seems to be a lack of modesty and forethought when it comes to information (pics, videos, crazy status updates) being placed on social networking sites. Once information is placed on the web, you should assume it will live on the web forever, yes forever. People can save any images or text with a simple right click of a mouse and don’t assume because your privacy settings are set on Facebook or other social networking sites that any of your risque information won’t show up on the web (so called friends can share your information).

Another security/privacy issue to be considered while participating in social media/social networking is GPS location services. Foursquare, Twitter, Facebook, and most other social networking sites allow you to provide your GPS location. As a retired police officer I do not think this is the best of ideas for personal security reasons. There are websites like pleaserobme.com that are placing your GPS locations on their website once caught off the web from status updates along with the fact that you are not home encouraging criminal activity or at your residence i.e: burglary because you are most likely not at home.

Below are 5 common sense tips on how to prevent from unwanted privacy intrusions:

1) Don’t share naked pictures of yourself unless you are ready for the consequences – Hmm, what will my parents or kids think?
2) Don’t put anything into a status update you don’t want recirculated on the web – My boss John Doe is a #$%^.
3) Ladies turn off your GPS notifications from all social networking sites so you are not advertising that you are alone at a bar at 2am – There are creepers on the web you know.
4) Don’t always trust a picture of an individual on a social networking site because they are attractive – Things are not always as they appear.
5) Don’t list your cell phone number on Twitter, Facebook, or any other social networking website if you don’t want your privacy invaded – Ladies really, weirdos will call you.

As social media continues to change our culture our definition of privacy seems to also be changing. What was private 5 years ago is now a profile picture on Facebook or a status update on Twitter that potentially millions of people can see. I am not throwing rocks from my glass house as I have violated my own common sense rules a time or two, but consider your privacy current or future when participating in social media and social networking sites. Mike Vallez

I love to read a news article on the web that highlights a law enforcement agency that is using social media and being successful at it. Some may say social media success for law enforcement has to be measured by arrests, crimes prevented or some numerical value. However, successful use of social media for law enforcement is more of a “loss leader.” If an agency broadens their audience, informs their constituents, and yes ultimately prevents crime then they should consider social media a valuable communication tool. One such agency that is rocking social media is the Kentucky State Police.

The Kentucky State Police are using social media and have found success in doing so. Unlike most law enforcement agencies someone at the Kentucky State Police found value in communicating through social media. They have a successful Facebook fan page which has just about 17,000 people who like it (including me). They post everything from crime prevention tips, wanted people pic’s, criminal activity information, and more to their Facebook Fan Page. The Kentucky State Police also use Twitter to push out their message. A quick check of their website shows that the Kentucky State police prominently display their Facebook fan page feed and Twitter link for web users to follow them on those social networking sites.

While law enforcement is still finding out how to implement social media some agencies such as the Kentucky State Police have realized the value in communicating through social networking websites. Hopefully, over the next year law enforcement will realize the low cost big messaging benefit that is possible by using social media. Mike Vallez

Law enforcement has basically been at the mercy of the news media. Whether issuing press releases, responding to a high profile case, or requesting help from citizens in a missing person case the police were (are) at the behest of the media to communicate there message.

Social media offers alternative options for law enforcement agencies to take control of their communication and messaging. Facebook fan pages, Twitter, blogs, iPhone apps, podcasting, YouTube, are just a few social media channels that allow law enforcement to call the shots on their messaging. There is a shift in control when law enforcement can offensively deploy a press release to Twitter or Facebook for the general public, which includes the press agencies. Press conferences can be pre-determined through simple video podcasting efforts with editing prior to release and posting to agencies websites, blogs, or YouTube for release to the world wide web. Best of all these communications options are very inexpensive.

The premise is law enforcement no longer has to rely on the media for press coverage. They can take control of their messaging and reach a larger audience. One law enforcement agency that has taken the leap by issuing press release through social media sites only is the Boca Raton Police Department. The media responded to the Boca Raton PD by running a mostly negative news spot, but they have now become use to obtaining press releases through Facebook and Twitter.

Social media offers law enforcement alternatives on getting their message out, which will allow them to control investigations better, keep better public relations, and so on. Mike Vallez

While reading some of my latest Google Alert’s I cam across a blog post by David Etue of FederalComputerWeek.com. The article titled “Mitigation, not prohibition, is best response to social media’s security risks” provides an excellent argument why organizations such as law enforcement agencies need to get into the conversation. Etue does a great job of identifying both the pitfalls and benefits to using social media. Yes, there are pitfalls to using social media, specifically if a social media plan is implemented “willy-nilly” without planning or expert advice. But there are also many benefits to using social media such as communicating with large groups of people, such as constituents.

Currently law enforcement is in the “wait and see” mode to see if social media/new media and social networking actually continue their exponential growth. By the time law enforcement gets on the bandwagon in may be too late! But it is not too late now to get involved and use social media/new media and social networking as another communications tool. Some specific law enforcement benefits from using social media are:

• Better control of your message and brand

• Community outreach

• Community policing

• Criminal investigations

• Crime prevention

• And more

David Etue has given four basics that should be included when an agency or organization wants to enter the social media realm.

1) Codes of conduct
2) Training
3) Official profiles
4) Controls

These basic steps are not complicated and are rather easy to implement when forming a social media plan. Actually, this article is a great first step to embrace with mitigation than to try to ban social media. Because banning social media will not work. Mike Vallez