The safety region is clear: X is no longer the right way to reach the Amsterdammers. The fire brigade includes the safety region. If there are too many people in the Jordaan at King’s Day, for example, and it is dangerous to report the safety region about it. Also with a gigantic fire, communication for Amsterdammers from the Safety Region.
The reason: there is no longer enough range via the medium. “You see that more often, you see that more and more companies and organizations are questioning the use of X,” says Sarah Marschlich. She is assistant professor of communication, organization and society. “That is partly due to the image that X gets, but also because of the declining range. Messages with a negative charge are much higher in the algorithm, and neutral reporting such as a government organization therefore no longer have the reach of the past.”
Certainty over risks
X is also an important communication platform for authorities such as the municipality and police. The municipality set out the option to post comments under their posts earlier. For the police it is an important way of investigating communication. Nevertheless, both the police and the municipality struggle with their use. The municipality: “Through these platforms we reach large groups of Amsterdammers that we reach less well through other channels. And it enables us to quickly and distribute important information under a wide audience if necessary.”
Nevertheless, the trade -off between the large range and the disadvantages of a medium is always made. The police also tend to look for a different means than X, “but at the moment the general public is still on X, so we are not getting rid of it yet.”
A risk, that is what Marschlich also mentions, is the fact that people read their information especially ‘already scrolling’. They do not quickly go to a separate platform in, for example, the form of a website. “People are less likely to go to police.nl themselves, and we have to make it clear that our information is always there in times of crisis communication,” said a police spokesperson. On the street, most people we speak are skeptical: “There are already so many apps, websites and platforms. I don’t need even more, I would rather read all in one place.”
An alternative in its time
Whether the own platform is actually the best method, the safety region is still investigating that. The assistant professor: “I think you first have to bet on established platforms such as Instagram. Perhaps your own platform is a long -term solution, but you first have to put a lot of money and time in it to make that work.