Writing about crime isn’t always easy, especially if you’re just getting started as a freelancer. We’ve all read newspaper features that report crime in dry monotone, yet we all know how successful a good crime novel can be. As a blogger, the trick is to strike a balance between the two. To engage readers, you need to cover crime compellingly without making it a complete work of fiction.
Here are some tips for writing great blog posts about crime, law, and justice. [Read more…]
While you are posting what you ate for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everything in between – not to mention selfies every hour – there are those who use social media for something more beneficial. No, I am not talking about social media marketing, which certainly has its benefits, but what I mean is a concern that affects the society as a whole.
I’m referring to law enforcement agencies which are turning to social media to help them do their jobs better. [Read more…]
The average social media user may not face any issues with regard to crime. Trolling, sure. That’s what the Internet is for, right? Crime directly related to social media is not that common, though. Or is it?
In recent times, however, studies have shown that there is a correlation between crime and social media. As early as 2012, the BBC reported that alleged crimes related to Twitter and Facebook have increased eight-fold in four years!
To be fair, the findings of various studies are not always negative. But when it does go wrong, it can get shocking. [Read more…]
Most of the bloggers I know are hard-working, law-abiding citizens. However, this morning I could not seem to escape stories about bad bay bloggers.
Kevin Cogill, the blogger who foolishly posted the new Guns N’ Roses tracks before they were officially released, was sentenced to two months of home confinement and one year of probation. The good news? He’ll have plenty of time to blog. [Read more…]
USA Today runs the AP story about Israel Hyman who twittered on his vacation and got his home burglarized. Twitter is blamed, because with constant updates on where Hyman and his wife were, the burglars could take their time. The AP story says:
Most people wouldn’t leave a recording on a home answering machine telling callers they’re on vacation for a week, and most people wouldn’t let mail or newspapers pile up while they were away. But users of social media think nothing of posting real-time vacation photos on Facebook showing themselves on beaches hundreds of miles from home, or sending out automatic e-mail messages that say, “I’m out of the country for a week.”
That’s the gist of it really. We’ve heard this before, about traditional blogging. If the wrong people follow you on Twitter, is watching you on Facebook, or reads your blog, and you tell them that you and your family will be on vacation for a week, then they could exploit that. It is worth thinking about, at least.
Do you worry about letting burglars know when you’re out of town via Twitter?
