Twitter recently unveiled an alerts system that can be used by certain organizations to make critical announcements to the public. People can subscribe to alerts within their timelines, as push notifications on Android and iOS devices, and as SMS notifications. Just two weeks into the new Alerts program, several local and federal authorities have already begun putting Twitter Alerts to work, Twitter announced on its blog.
Incident on Capitol Hill
When news of a shooting and runaway car broke and the “shelter in place” order was issued, the Senate Sergeant at Arms, responsible for safety at the U.S. Senate, pushed a Twitter alert notifying users on where seek shelter, which streets were closed, and followup information about the investigation:
USCP investigating reports of gunshots on Capitol Hill. If in a #Senate office, shelter in place. If not go to nearest office. #alert
— SenateSergeantAtArms (@SenateSAA) October 3, 2013
Also, Constitution Avenue, from Louisiana Avenue NW to 3rd Street NE, is closed for police investigation. #USCapitol #dctraffic #alert
— SenateSergeantAtArms (@SenateSAA) October 3, 2013
Earlier gunshots fired incident appears to be isolated event. No current threat to #Senate community. USCP, SAA continue to monitor. #alert
— SenateSergeantAtArms (@SenateSAA) October 3, 2013
For those subscribed to Alerts from the Senate Sergeant at Arms via SMS, their Alerts looked something like this:
AMBER Alert in New York City
New York City’s Office of Emergency Management used Twitter Alerts to issue an AMBER Alert, a system in place for notifying the public of an abducted child:
AMBER Alert: Avanta Perez, M/H/5 abducted from Cortlandt, NY, in gray 4-door sedan Honda Civic NY lic DRT8361. http://t.co/4ddIFSuDi3 #alert
— NYC OEM – Notify NYC (@NotifyNYC) September 28, 2013
Federal Government Shutdown
When the U.S. government shutdown went into effect, the Department of Interior announced that national parks would be closed:
Due to #governmentshutdown, public lands managed by @Interior (Natl Parks, Natl Wildlife Refuges, BLM facilities, etc) will be closed #alert
— US Dept of Interior (@Interior) October 1, 2013
Tornado Watch in New Jersey
As tornadoes worked their way up the East Coast earlier this week, New Jersey’s Office of Emergency Management alerted users of the potential for tornadoes throughout the state:
Tornado Watch in effect for all of NJ. Be prepared to act quickly if warnings are issued by NWS. http://t.co/bLiQJE5qyb #alert
— NJ OEM (@ReadyNJ) October 7, 2013
To subscribe to Twitter Alerts, first look for the orange Alerts bell icon in the left-hand column of a user’s Twitter account. This icon indicates a user is authorized to send Twitter Alerts. When you find the bell, click the “Be prepared” link to subscribe to Twitter Alerts by that organization. Here is a full list of authorized accounts.
Do you subscribe to any Twitter Alerts? If so, which ones?