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February 13, 2013

20 Social Media Habits to Give Up for Lent

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January 30, 2013

How Social Media Gaffes Can Be Handled Using Humor

This is a great example of how gaffes can be combated with transparency and humor.

Last week, a Fruit Ninja Score was sent out from the Dallas Police Department’s Twitter account. See their response here: https://www.facebook.com/notes/dallas-police-department/fruit-ninja-super-bowl-and-the-dallas-police-department/10151251341363716 (or check out my highlights below).

Fruit Ninja, Super Bowl, and the Dallas Police Department by Dallas Police Department
Wednesday, 30 January 2013 at 09:46

Perhaps you heard something about a Fruit Ninja incident on Twitter last weekend……and perhaps you are aware of a certain sporting event known as the Super Bowl occurring this Sunday. What can those two distinct events have in common? Why, it’s obvious…..that would be us, the Dallas Police Department (@DallasPD). Follow us on Twitter @DallasPD and like us on Facebook as we will be posting safety tips regarding ticket scams, drinking and driving and other topics which come up when big sporting events happen. We have since found other curious intersections between our Fruit Ninja score (38) and the Superbowl - on Jan 20, 1985, San Francisco beat Miami 38-16; Jan 22, 1984, Raiders beat Washington 38-9; And spookiest of all, in last year’s Superbowl the Giants beat the Patriots 21 – 17, making it a combined score of 38!

Now that we’ve had fun, on to police related matters – Driving While Intoxicated is a very serious issue. We know there will be a large number of Super Bowl related parties this Sunday. We are in no way discouraging you from having fun, but please be safe while doing so.

If you are attending a Super Bowl Party:

Designate your sober driver before the party begins and give that person your car keys.
Avoid drinking too much alcohol too fast by pacing yourself – eat enough food, take breaks, and alternate with non-alcoholic drinks.
If you don’t have a designated driver, ask a sober friend for a ride home; call a cab, friend, or family member to come and get you; or just stay where you are and sleep it off until you are sober.
Never let a friend leave your sight if you think they are about to drive while impaired. Remember, Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk.
Always buckle up – it’s still your best defense against other impaired drivers.

If you are hosting a Super Bowl Party:

Remember, you can be held liable and prosecuted if someone you served ends up in an impaired-driving crash.
Be sure all of your guests designate their drivers in advance, or help arrange ride-sharing with sober drivers.
Serve lots of food and be sure to include plenty of non-alcoholic beverages at the party.
Keep the numbers for local cab companies handy, and take the keys away from anyone who is thinking of driving while impaired

We will be posting more crime prevention tips throughout the week. Please look for them on twitter (@DallasPD) and Facebook ( facebook.com/DallasPD).

And for those of you wondering exactly how “Fruit Ninja” went down, here is the full report and subsequent investigation.

On Saturday, January 26, 2013, at 9:11 pm, CST, a mysterious tweet from @DallasPD regarding a Fruit Ninja (38 fruit sliced in Classic Mode!) score appeared in the Twitterverse. This raised numerous questions (and a bit of panic) from the Media Relations staff – did @DallasPD become self aware? Was the account hacked by an enemy of the state? What is Fruit Ninja?

Many of our followers also had questions, chief among them, were taxpayer dollars used? And was it our highest score ever?

After a thorough investigation (CSI: Fruit Ninja!), the source of this tweet was traced to a 5 year old boy, who after hours of interrogation signed a written statement admitting his role in Fruitgate.

The DPD Media Relations Staff would like to assure the public that no taxpayer dollars were used, nor was it the culprit’s highest score ever. We do appreciate the retweets and responses we have received. We have learned a sobering lesson from this experience – security threats are not confined to the hacker world. But perhaps the most embarrassing part for us was the realization that our most “viral” post did not come from a post about a suspect wanted for murder, a robber, or even a critical missing person, but from a bored five year old playing on his mommy’s iPhone.