UK Police Social Media Survey Feb 2014 One Year On Twitter Facebook YouTube Google+ by Mike Downes

One year ago, I made a post looking at how UK Police Forces were using Social Media (14 Jan 2013).

Welcome to the annual Feb 2014 Survey where you will find six charts and a video. If I were you, click on the first image and scroll through the charts (they should open in a light box), then have a read of this text if you need to.

Realtime Communications - When will LIVE Video become Natural and Commonplace? CILIP 6 June 2013

Patrick Viera and Nicola McCarthy of Man City FC

I gave a talk at CILIP in London last month - it served as many things. +Sarah Hill called it a great historical perspective of the last two years of Google+ and Hangouts.

For most people who visit this post, they'll have been directed here by me personally - usually from a conversation, g+ post or looking to learn something.

The Virtual Field Trips - Virtual School Trips Resource Page with Case Study: Hangouts in History

Update on 29 Jan 2014 Google Education launched Connected Classrooms on 4 Nov 2013 with a website and a Google+ Community (there are 4,369 members as now).

In many ways Virtual Field Trips became #connectedclassrooms.

This post will still serve as a resource page, but I have a new one for the UK as Tesco launched the Eat Happy Project (which will use connected classrooms). This is the first time in the UK, a large org has stepped up with real time video with schools.

The New Youtube One Channel by Andrew Stinger, Video and Slides

Slide 4 from the video

Edit: This post was made 1 April 2013, but takes effect worldwide today 5 June 2013.

A few days ago, +Andrew Stinger gave a talk LIVE at Youtube on the new One Channel.

I would mark this as essential viewing for everyone. And by that, I mean watch all 58 mins, do not skip, do not think you know it - because you don't.

It's very rare for a development like this. I have two and a half pages of scribbled notes.

UK Police Forces on Social Media - March 2013 Survey Anyone can become their own Media Company

Photo Credit WMP Papal Visit

Here's the third in the series of UK Police on Social Media. As usual, we have the Google Docs Data Set. I make no excuses, it's starting to look a tad messy, that's why I produces a few charts and talk you through them.

All the data is gather by me clicking through and copy, pasting the numbers. It helps me make sense and look for the patterns. Having APIs gathering data is fine, but the more statistics, the less you read.

How to Post Edit a Hangout On Air for Beginners by Mike Downes

Sony Vegas Edit Window

Video editing is something I've always walked away from, until now.

I've said many times before, how I prefer text and the odd photo to time consuming video production.

No real surprise how Hangouts have lead the way in realtime communication.

But, the way video has become both essential and comfortable is the clincher for me. No longer, is it a novelty.

UK Police Forces on Social Media - The February 2013 Survey

A month ago, I published The January 2013 Survey. Here we are, with a bunch of new data and already a revelation with the UK Police passing One Million Twitter followers (reported on this blog yesterday).

On that post, there are a few charts and a closer look at the West Midlands Police as they rose by 37%.

New this month, are a few stacked charts where you can see in blue the January numbers, and in red the followers gained from mid Jan to mid Feb 2013.

UK Police Forces Pass One Million Twitter Followers with West Midlands Police Increasing by 37% in the Past Month

Last month, I published the UK Police Forces using Social Media. I'm updating the data every month, but bring you this special post about Twitter as three facts emerge:

1, The total number of followers to all UK Police Official Twitter Accounts is now at 1,041,850.

2, West Midlands Police has seen a 37% increase in followers from 50,101 to 68,793 in the last month.

UK Police Forces using Social Media: Twitter, facebook, YouTube, Google+ and Hangouts On Air - The January 2013 Survey by Mike Downes

Aug 14 edit For the latest UK Police on Social Media, visit: search/label/police or uk police social media survey Aug 2014 with two posts on uk police youtube (11 Aug/50 forces compared and  12 Aug 14/ top 10 most viewed videos).

14 Jan 13 This is the first post in a series looking at the UK Police and how they use Social Media. It's not so much a Survey, but a collection of what's public and putting it all in place.

All I've done is ask a few obvious questions, looked on the web to see what I want (which doesn't seem to be there), so decided to make one data centre for the fifty three forces, see what patterns there are and ask some larger questions.

The 125th Anniversary National Geographic Hangout that Connected the Continents

This post is for those who ask me the question, What Can Hangouts do for you? I answer, They Bring the World Together.

My Google+ Post: All Seven Continents Connected via a Hangout On Air, just Fantastic Well Done+National Geographic Celebrating 125 Years .. Wow ..

The Google+ Community for Hangouts Rangers is now open

Google+ Communities was launched on 6 December 2012. Hangouts Rangers™ is a community group I own and moderate. 

It has a modest 135 members, which is on task and relevant compared to some other groups assisting people with Hangouts On Air.

Hangout Rangers™ is an Education Service for TV News, Broadcasters, Business, Media, Law Enforcement, Police, NGOs, Charity, Musicians and Celebrities.

Peter Wilson MBE, on his Gold Medal in the Shooting Double Trap all from his Google+ Hangout On Air 8 Aug 2012

I was delighted, like the rest of the country, to hear that Peter Wilson has been appointed MBE (BBC News, 29 Dec 12).

When asked to think of a few best Hangouts in 2012, this one shot to the top of the list.

West Midlands Police kick off Mad Friday with a Hangout On Air with Kerry Blakeman, Simon Shilton and Sam Wilyman for #wmpadvent Don't Drink and Drive

Early start this morning, at 7:00am to what's expected to be the busiest night of the year. With just a few nights out left before Christmas 2012, it's known as Mad Friday.

West Midlands Police are running a LIVE 24hr Tweetathon with many officers and locations involved (Press Release, 20 Dec 2012). You can follow the event across all platforms as #wmpadvent.

The first ever Hangout On Air with Storyful all you need at #storyfulhangout

The first ever Storyful Hangout On Air from Google HQ, Dublin happened today. There were many guests broadcast Live to YouTube.

The session discussed and took questions around Journalism, Social Media and Verification.

LIVE Drink Driving Operation Hangout on Air from West Midlands Police and Kerry Blakeman on Sat 1 Dec 2012 at 6pm

Google+ Even Page

On planning a LIVE Hangout On Air, there are a number of posts to be made to ensure it all runs smoothly. 

This post will let you know what they are and where they are located across platforms like Google+, Twitter and YouTube.

Channel 4 News, LSE and the Leveson Google+ Hangout On Air

Google+ Post showing user and a mini player

Channel 4 held their first Hangout On Air today. This post is providing all the speaker information and links to negotiate through the broadcast.

To develop HOAs (Hangouts On Air) further, it necessary to understand the timeline of posting and sharing. Gone are the days when you turn on the TV at 6pm and simply watch. HOAs can open in seconds, when news breaks so we need no studio, no production staff or specialist equipment.

Hangouts On Air are nearly Impossible to Find - How can we Harvest those High Quality Broadcasts?

All paths lead to a Hangout On Air

This post is a work in progress as it can't be another way. When I've explained what I know and how I got there, I expect a few readers to pave the way with some ideas.

Google+

To get started, let's look at: https://plus.google.com/u/0/hangouts where we can normally see six HOAs (Hangouts On Air). I'm leaving the the long links in, as you can see what I'm talking about. I see this as a learning point.

Has anyone seen +Robbie Williams in a Hangout today .. not us

But, we had a great time Waiting for Robbie as part of the #crashmyhangout event. This was a fun event, we sustained 25-35 viewers for 97 minutes, which is a record (for us) ..

Whatever happened today Robbie, we're sure it wasn't down to you. And knowing you how you put your fans first, we're sure this event will be rearranged soon and we'll get to hangout with you ..

All the best, +Dolidh Young +Claudia Pelagatti +Clare Cosgrove +Antony Spiteri +Robert Redl +Justin Hill +Moritz Tolxdorff +Renzo Zambrano ..+Mike Downes

Professional Audio for Hangouts On Air brought to you by +Scott Mills of the +Toronto Police Service

15 Comments at Google+

Here we have a recent event (http://goo.gl/5WzHf) with a Mac Book Pro connected to a USB Webcam (mounted on a stand), Sennheiser Audio Receiver plugged into the mic socket and a USB 3g stick for web connection. Mounted on the speaker's lectern is a Sennheiser Audio Transmitter.

The slide also shows a media TV Truck, a bunch of cameras on tripods and a shot of the Event Page. Remember, the Hangout On Air kit easily slips into a rucksack and runs on batteries. Welcome to the future of Broadcasting.  

The British Ambassador to Lebanon Tom Fletcher held a Hangout On Air

Ambassador Tom Fletcher

Last month, I was delighted to produce this broadcast. The Hangout Interview with +Tom Fletcher British Ambassador to Lebanon is ready to watch again. Joint hosts were +Lara Setrakian +Henry Langston 

The connection from Beirut was just a megabyte showing how versatile Hangouts are for getting a valuable message out at the highest level.  

+Tom Fletcher is known as The Digital Diplomat. This is a fascinating part of the session as +Lara Setrakian asks the Ambassador about his use of social media. What follows is an invaluable insight (clip should start at 26:12) ..