Apparently the benefits of social media outweigh the security risks. Hmmm... Where have I heard that before?
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61Q07G20100227?type=technologyNews
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
At the risk of sounding bitchy...
Many of us loved the shooting game on Facebook. It was a bit of diversion that only a small group of Facebook friends could see. Guess the time of the next shooting. Closest guess won. No private information was given, no one got hurt, there was no national media attention. The game died because I was ordered to cease & desist for, at best, unclear reasons.
This very blog has been a bane to the EMS hierarchy. Apparently it has the reputation of "stirring the pot," a pot which apparently needs to remain unstirred. In reviewing the past dozens of articles written on here and the comments in the tag-box, I can't find any stories that might be considered "pot-stirring" (this current article notwithstanding). It's been a place to encourage others for professional improvement, point out a job well done, post photos from the Times-Picayune of us in silly poses, and cite links to other helpful EMS-related websites. How any of this is "pot-stirring" eludes me.
Therefore I find it fascinating that social media websites such this one exist unmolested: http://www.facebook.com/ProjectNOLA/posts/341940306666#!/ProjectNOLA. It is not my Facebook page and I have no idea who is involved with is creation or maintenance. It details crimes in the city as they happen, by someone who obviously has a radio scanner, with very specific information on who, what, where & when, etc. It also clearly has a large base of followers from the general public. Nowhere in the many comments and updates on it do I see a cease & desist request from any city entity. Further, it is just one of a myriad of similar online sources for the gory emergency responder details of the city in which we live and work. Here's another one, and another, and another, and another.
I was informed in one of my many cease & desist meetings that the internet is not the proper medium for letting out frustrations. It was recommended to go to a bar and bitch about work with my co-workers over a drink. Alternatives to such "therapy" were not explored. I must ask, is drinking & complaining the only approved method of stress reduction? After Hurricane Katrina I explained my own methods of decompressing to the CISD psychiatrists. One doctor called two other doctors so I could repeat my coping methods to them, namely writing about my experiences and channeling my frustration, sadness or joy into a productive medium. They were fascinated and encouraged me to continue doing so, saying "You obviously have a very effective way of coping with stress."
So, sorry for stirring the pot once more. Since websites such as the Facebook page above continue unbridled in their haste to inform the public with raw, unfiltered information for anyone to read and comment on, I will continue to feel justified for posting my own take on my EMS experiences. Until such public websites and social media are stopped from their own "violations," please do not single ME out as a troublemaker for my methods of dealing with stress and creativity by simply telling war stories.
There. I've said it.
-Fitz
This very blog has been a bane to the EMS hierarchy. Apparently it has the reputation of "stirring the pot," a pot which apparently needs to remain unstirred. In reviewing the past dozens of articles written on here and the comments in the tag-box, I can't find any stories that might be considered "pot-stirring" (this current article notwithstanding). It's been a place to encourage others for professional improvement, point out a job well done, post photos from the Times-Picayune of us in silly poses, and cite links to other helpful EMS-related websites. How any of this is "pot-stirring" eludes me.
Therefore I find it fascinating that social media websites such this one exist unmolested: http://www.facebook.com/ProjectNOLA/posts/341940306666#!/ProjectNOLA. It is not my Facebook page and I have no idea who is involved with is creation or maintenance. It details crimes in the city as they happen, by someone who obviously has a radio scanner, with very specific information on who, what, where & when, etc. It also clearly has a large base of followers from the general public. Nowhere in the many comments and updates on it do I see a cease & desist request from any city entity. Further, it is just one of a myriad of similar online sources for the gory emergency responder details of the city in which we live and work. Here's another one, and another, and another, and another.
I was informed in one of my many cease & desist meetings that the internet is not the proper medium for letting out frustrations. It was recommended to go to a bar and bitch about work with my co-workers over a drink. Alternatives to such "therapy" were not explored. I must ask, is drinking & complaining the only approved method of stress reduction? After Hurricane Katrina I explained my own methods of decompressing to the CISD psychiatrists. One doctor called two other doctors so I could repeat my coping methods to them, namely writing about my experiences and channeling my frustration, sadness or joy into a productive medium. They were fascinated and encouraged me to continue doing so, saying "You obviously have a very effective way of coping with stress."
So, sorry for stirring the pot once more. Since websites such as the Facebook page above continue unbridled in their haste to inform the public with raw, unfiltered information for anyone to read and comment on, I will continue to feel justified for posting my own take on my EMS experiences. Until such public websites and social media are stopped from their own "violations," please do not single ME out as a troublemaker for my methods of dealing with stress and creativity by simply telling war stories.
There. I've said it.
-Fitz
Sunday, February 14, 2010
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