Amber Alerts: necessary shock or invasive annoyance?
Ever had an AMBER alert (America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) on your phone?
What a wonderful system for helping engage the whole community to be vigilant in the tragic circumstances of a child abduction.
Did the Alerts work as intended?
That’s debatable apparently. Following an alert in California, there were many reports of people being startled and confused by the loud noise of the alert, which woke them up late at night. As you can see from the image, they’re not exactly intuitive. Some report being annoyed at technology that is invasive enough to bypass your do-not-disturb settings. Others were worried something had happened to an elderly relative. Some thought it was just spam, whilst many just didn’t know what they were supposed to do.
Is this an example of how a well-defined Content Strategy could have avoided the surprise and confusion?
How could authorities have done a better job of communicating the benefits of Alerts, informing the public what to expect and what to do, and also how to get more information from the somewhat cryptic messages?
What do you think?
What a wonderful system for helping engage the whole community to be vigilant in the tragic circumstances of a child abduction.
Did the Alerts work as intended?
That’s debatable apparently. Following an alert in California, there were many reports of people being startled and confused by the loud noise of the alert, which woke them up late at night. As you can see from the image, they’re not exactly intuitive. Some report being annoyed at technology that is invasive enough to bypass your do-not-disturb settings. Others were worried something had happened to an elderly relative. Some thought it was just spam, whilst many just didn’t know what they were supposed to do.
Is this an example of how a well-defined Content Strategy could have avoided the surprise and confusion?
How could authorities have done a better job of communicating the benefits of Alerts, informing the public what to expect and what to do, and also how to get more information from the somewhat cryptic messages?
What do you think?
Amber Alerts: necessary shock or invasive annoyance?
![Amber Alerts: necessary shock or invasive annoyance?]()
Reviewed by Unknown
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1:41 AM
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