The rise of social networking and virtual connections is changing things around here
Facebook is no longer just a silly tool for tracking down old flames or notifying the world that you are enjoying a fine sandwich. Along with other forms of digital interaction, organizations use Facebook to mobilize meetings and movements, reunite lost pets with owners, alert residents to prowlers and track down wanted criminals, to name a few. Social media can forge relationships, improve efficiency, boost business and promote safety within communities.
Of course, like any technology, it comes with a few pitfalls, and not everyone is on board.
• What’s a friend and a follow? Click here for a glossary of basic social media terminology you’ll see in this story.
• Read about how the Advocate is using social media.
• Get ideas about how social media can benefit your neighborhood organization, business or group.
iNeighborhoods
Neighbors again are battling with DART over details surrounding the proposed Cotton Belt Rail Line set to pass through residential areas of Far North Dallas. But this time, they have a new way to deliver their message — they’re using the power of social media.
The advocacy group Cotton Belt Concerned Citizens Coalition launched a Facebook page to disseminate information about the project.
“I have seen how you can get the word out to so many people,” says Stacia Price, a member of the steering committee who manages the Facebook page.
“It’s just so important. It was a no-brainer. We’re starting to see the benefits.”
Its impact became clear when Price posted a status update on her own profile that the Cotton Belt issue had resurfaced. Other neighbors responded in shock.
DART initially proposed the regional rail line in the 1990s as a way to provide an east-west route from Richardson to DFW Airport. Far North Dallas residents agreed to the plan under terms set by the 2006 Natinsky Plan, which required the tracks to run about 15 feet deep to alleviate noise and vibration to nearby homes. In August, DART engineers revealed that the 100-year flood plain would allow only for a depression of about 12 inches in some areas.
“They’re completely doing away with the Natinsky Plan,” says Tom Wood, co-chair of the CBCC.
While some seasoned homeowners are feeling worn out by the return of the Cotton Belt issue, new neighbors are reinvigorating the opposition.
“I was so excited at the [October] meeting at the police station,” says Sally Wolfish, the District 12 city plan commissioner who has lived in Prestonwood Estates for 18 years.
“There were all these new people talking about Facebook and Twitter. We used to have to go up to Kinko’s and print off 500 flyers. I think it’s great that they’re finding new ways to make connections.”
The CBCC Facebook page will become the central hub for neighbors to find updates and full reports on DART meetings that most busy homeowners simply don’t have the time to attend.
“The challenge with Facebook is that we know there is a percentage of the population that isn’t participating in that,” Price says. “Right now, we’re trying to find out who’s listening.”
Check out our promo clip for the Advocate technology issue:
iBusiness
Launching a successful local business has never been so easy. Just ask James St. Peter, the mastermind behind Hypnotic Donuts. He’ll open his East Dallas shop this month, but he got his start in Far North Dallas with Facebook as his storefront.
“I think Facebook was the simplest, easiest, cheapest and most effective,” he says. “It cost me zero dollars.”
St. Peter created a page and posted information about his “doughnut drops” just a few hours in advance, telling his fans to meet at random locations such as the PetsMart parking lot at Coit and Campbell. He drove up in his black SUV with boxes full of sugary pastries topped with Lemonheads, Captain Crunch and Red Hots.
In the past year, his following has grown from about 60 Facebook fans to more than 2,000. The novel idea attracted media attention, and St. Peter has yet to spend a dime on advertising. He built a large enough fan base on the web to open a real storefront on Garland Road near the Dallas Arboretum.
“Without online communities, none of this would be happening.”
St. Peter continues to use Facebook and now Twitter to advertise specials and extended hours that customers cannot hear about anywhere else.
iCrime fighting
Dallas Police YouTube channel • youtube.com/ DallasPoliceDept • Dallas Police post surveillance videos of crimes on the DPD YouTube channel. The popular video-sharing site allows police to seek the public’s help in identifying suspects as well as locating missing people and solving various types of cases.
iWatch App • dallaspolice.net • The iWatch app provides three options: Send in a text only, send in a text with a picture, or send an anonymous tip. You can also text a tip by typing DPD plus your tip to 274637, or you can call 214.671.4TIP.
No more waiting until the quarterly crime watch meeting for the latest stats in Far North Dallas. The North Central substation has embraced Facebook, posting real-time information about neighborhood crime.
“If we have a certain area where sexual assaults are going on, we can post the suspect’s description and that he’s targeting single females between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m., and we can put a warning out there,” says Sgt. Israel Herrera, head of the North Central neighborhood policing team.
In early November, police circulated a surveillance video of a man who robbed several Game Stop stores throughout the city and a Tom Thumb gas station at Preston and Belt Line.
A Facebook user commented, “I saw that guy at tha lovers lane train station on sunday when i was coming from that same game stop!!!!!!”
Police have made no arrests in the case yet, but Herrera says that kind of information can only help an investigation, and he encourages more people to call 911 or use the iWatch smartphone application, which allows citizens to send anonymous text messages about suspicious activity.
The police have received at least 1,135 tips citywide through iWatch since January 2011. Last May, one of those tips led police to a marijuana grow house at 7400 Northaven where officers seized several pounds of weed.
“It’s a way of getting involved without getting too involved,” Herrera says about both the iWatch and social media tools.
The Facebook page also serves as an alternative source of information for busy parents who can’t always make the 6 p.m. neighborhood meetings.
“I have three children, and they’re in bed by 9 p.m.,” Herrera says. “I don’t always have time to go to meetings. I’d imagine for some people, [Facebook] reaches that avenue.
“The great thing about Facebook is that it’s written communication. So people can’t say ‘I thought I heard this’ or ‘I thought I heard that.’ I think with the younger generation, the face-to-face communication is starting to diminish.”
Dallas Police also use Twitter and Nixle to disseminate information but have found that Facebook reaches the biggest audience. At least 7,826 people have “liked” the police department page where officers post not only crime updates but also traffic updates and photos from community presentations.
“It shows a positive interaction with adults and children in our area,” Herrera says.
Brooke Green remembers when police shared the video of the “Lively Lane Prowler,” a man who creepily peeped into homes and burglarized some around the Preston Hollow area in October. It created lots of buzz among her friends, and police caught the suspect a few weeks later. Green found out on Facebook.
“That really gave me peace of mind that he was caught,” she says.
Five more groups to follow online
A group of local bloggers post reports about dining, events and entertainment around Far North Dallas and its surrounding suburbs. From spas to sweet shops to farmers’ markets, you’re sure to discover something new.
2. North Dallas Neighborhood Alliance
Through its website, the homeowners association umbrella group post about important information regarding city hall happenings, current zoning issues and public meetings.
Hillcrest Manor resident Brian Cummings started this website and blog to help people find and purchase meat and produce from local farmers. The site also aggregates food news from local and national publications.
Old-timers can share memories of growing up in Richardson while neighborhood newbies can learn a few things about the history of the area, including our neighborhood public schools.
North Dallas area mom Holly Homer shares her “perky suburban angst,” offering sarcastic commentary on child rearing, cooking, cleaning and other stay-at-home mom ventures. Also check out her tab, “Holly’s Animated Life.”
iDallas
Four city hall web functions you probably haven’t used (but should)
1. Check out library books to your mobile device.
dallaslibrary.lib.overdrive.com
Not only does the Dallas Public Library have a thorough and useful app (with the swipe of a finger, search the catalog, place items on hold or renew items checked out) but it also has an extensive selection of eBooks available to borrow. Options range from New York Times bestsellers (John Grisham’s “The Litigators”) to classics (Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”) to popular nonfiction (Michael Pollen’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”). We tried it, and in less than 10 minutes, we were reading on our iPhone. A helpful guided tour takes library cardholders through the process.
2. Find out whether your favorite restaurants passed inspection.
Go to page on dallascityhall.com
They wouldn’t be open if they hadn’t, but the section located at this lengthy web address allows you to see whether the places you frequent are receiving high scores or barely making the grade. A quick search by name reveals how a restaurant fared on its most recent inspections.
3. Run into Mark Cuban, Ebby Halliday or the Cowboys cheerleaders.
These local celebs are a sampling of the famous names and faces the Dallas Park and Recreation Department recruited to promote its recent trail etiquette campaign. Other than watching the amusing video, website visitors can view an interactive map to find the exact layout of Dallas trails (both current and planned) in relation to streets, rec centers and other local landmarks.
4. Learn which park pavilion beat out Cowboys Stadium as the 2009 “Best of Show” award recipient from the American Institute of Architects Dallas chapter.
This little-known fact is touted in the online brochure “The Park Pavilions of Dallas,” which highlights 44 of the city’s shade-giving structures. Thirty-two of them were designed by respected architects who were charged with making the pavilions “contextual within the surrounding community and embraced by the neighborhood,” among other criteria.
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