Twitter Alerts Adopted by UK and Irish Government Agencies

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By Adario Strange2013-11-18 04:14:49 UTC

The practical uses for Twitter in the UK and Ireland, beyond sharing news and personal updates, will now include emergency alerts. Twitter UK representative Steve Summers made the announcement on Sunday via a blog post on the company’s website.

Joining the Twitter alert program are 57 official governmental agencies, including the London Metropolitan Police, the office of the Mayor of London, the Environment Agency, the Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre, the London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service. A full list of the agencies now offering the alert service can be found on Twitter’s website.

When the participating agencies post a tweet with the hashtag “alert,” the message will also be accompanied by an orange bell graphic, a visual add-on designed to emphasize the urgency of the message.

Users interested in signing up for the alert can subscribe via a special alert form on the participating agency’s Twitter account. In addition to app-based push notifications, users can also register their phone numbers with the agencies to receive SMS alert messages.

However, the company's instructions warn that your number will then be discoverable by others on Twitter unless you adjust the settings on your account.

In a statement obtained by Twitter, Metropolitan Police Service Commander David Martin said, “Getting fast and accurate information to the public in a major incident or terrorist attack really could make a life-saving difference.

“Using social networking sites, including Twitter, gives us additional ways to talk directly to the public. Twitter Alerts means that our messages will stand out when it most matters.”

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