IT Trends: Vancouver Police Department Launches Twitter Account

Think You’re Busy?

On Dec. 9, the Vancouver Police Department launched its Twitter account @VancouverPD. In an effort to educate the public about how busy police officers are, the department tweeted all of their calls for the first 24 hours.

“For the first time, people will get a real sense of just how busy an average day can be for a large Canadian municipal department. Most days, members of the VPD handle about 500 calls,” tweeted Constable Anne Longley, the department’s social media officer.

The department had 4,631 Twitter followers as of Dec. 17.

Source: cbc.ca

Twitter’s Top 10 Technology Tweets in 2010

1.    Apple iPad
2.    Google Android
3.    Apple iOS
4.    Apple iPhone
5.    Call of Duty Black Ops
6.    New Twitter
7.    HTC
8.    RockMelt
9.    MacBook Air
10.    Google Instant

App Optional?

Smartphone apps are all the buzz, but research shows that only 29 percent of cell phone users actually use them. Here’s a look at how most people use their cell phones.

Take a picture    76%
Send or receive text messages    72%
Access the Internet    38%
Play a game    34%
Send or receive e-mail    34%
Record a video    34%
Play music    33%
Send or receive instant messages    30%

Source: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project

Presidential Power

61 percent of Americans say the president should be able to shut down portions of the Internet in the event of a coordinated, malicious cyber-attack, according to research by Unisys.

Veterans in Government

Did you know that 14 percent of nondisabled veterans work in state and local government?

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2009 Current Population Survey


Send Spectrum ideas to managing editor Karen Stewartson.