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The idea of getting more eyes on Amber Alerts is a fundamentally good one, I think we can all agree on that. I think a far superior option to these kinds of ac

The idea of getting more eyes on Amber Alerts is a fundamentally good one, I think we can all agree on that. I think a far superior option to these kinds of active, "HEY LOOK AT ME" alerts would be something that could fit in passively but draw just as much viewership, and not just on phones. Imagine if, when an Amber Alert was out in your area, the alert showed up in your Twitter and Facebook feeds, your phone's lock screen, and maybe even above your email inbox. Sure, some people would probably mentally (or actually) filter these out just like they filter out ads, but it's preferable to everyone getting annoyed by the alerts and turning them off entirely.

betterunix 13y ago
"The idea of getting more eyes on Amber Alerts is a fundamentally good one, I think we can all agree on that." Can we? It is not clear that the Amber Alert system is an effective way to find kidnapped children, and it may actually cause more harm than good. http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/07/20/abducted/?page=full http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/07/20/... http://www.psmag.com/culture/amber-alerts-largely-ineffective-study-shows-4792/ http://www.psmag.com/culture/amber-alerts-largely-ineffectiv... Like most attempts to protect our children from strangers, the Amber Alert system was a knee-jerk reaction to a shocking but exceedingly rare crime.
baddox 13y ago
FYI, for years there have been electronic billboard displays on highways that will display AMBER alerts.
malandrew 13y ago
Yesterday, thousands of people probably disabled the alerts on their phone. Classic boy who cried wolf problem. Now these people may not get alerts for legitimate warnings like floods, Tsunamis, war, etc. This system should also be far more targeted. Sending a blanket message to the whole state is absurd. They should selectively send it to people based on GPS location. Who knows where that kid was abducted, but I'm certain that people on the other side of the state didn't need to know about it.
smacktoward 13y ago
Not necessarily. Any alert system has to walk a very fine line: too few alerts can mean people don't understand what they are or why they're important, but too many alerts leads to people just ignoring them all. Treating them essentially as background noise. I would imagine that this particular alert system has to deal with this pressure more than most. It's a system that can send an alert to every pocket and purse in the country, complete with audible and visual notification of its arrival. Anyone who has something they want to alert the public about would love to have their alerts go out to that network. But if they all could, it would just train people to ignore the buzzing and flashing -- which could lead to them missing an alert that is genuinely important, such as a dangerous weather event or potential mass-casualty threat in their area.

betterunix 13y ago

"The idea of getting more eyes on Amber Alerts is a fundamentally good one, I think we can all agree on that." Can we? It is not clear that the Amber Alert system is an effective way to find kidnapped children, and it may actually cause more harm than good. http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/07/20/abducted/?page=full http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/07/20/... http://www.psmag.com/culture/amber-alerts-largely-ineffective-study-shows-4792/ http://www.psmag.com/culture/amber-alerts-largely-ineffectiv... Like most attempts to protect our children from strangers, the Amber Alert system was a knee-jerk reaction to a shocking but exceedingly rare crime.

baddox 13y ago

FYI, for years there have been electronic billboard displays on highways that will display AMBER alerts.

malandrew 13y ago

Yesterday, thousands of people probably disabled the alerts on their phone. Classic boy who cried wolf problem. Now these people may not get alerts for legitimate warnings like floods, Tsunamis, war, etc. This system should also be far more targeted. Sending a blanket message to the whole state is absurd. They should selectively send it to people based on GPS location. Who knows where that kid was abducted, but I'm certain that people on the other side of the state didn't need to know about it.

smacktoward 13y ago

Not necessarily. Any alert system has to walk a very fine line: too few alerts can mean people don't understand what they are or why they're important, but too many alerts leads to people just ignoring them all. Treating them essentially as background noise. I would imagine that this particular alert system has to deal with this pressure more than most. It's a system that can send an alert to every pocket and purse in the country, complete with audible and visual notification of its arrival. Anyone who has something they want to alert the public about would love to have their alerts go out to that network. But if they all could, it would just train people to ignore the buzzing and flashing -- which could lead to them missing an alert that is genuinely important, such as a dangerous weather event or potential mass-casualty threat in their area.