I wonder if someone in Seattle’s police department has read Wikinomics? Because, they’re really taking advantage of the free power of groupsourcing.
Seattle Police recently opened a Twitter account to immediately tweet stolen vehicle information and help victims recover their property sooner. How? The color, year, make, model, license plate number and body style get tweeted from their @getyourcarback account. And, at the time of this writing, the account’s over 750 followers receive that tweet in their timeline and can be on the lookout. Not to make a citizen’s arrest of course if they spot a car. Each tweet specifically says to call 911 and let them know where the car is being driven.
But this simple use of free groupsourcing technology lets the Seattle Police Department add hundreds of people, all over the city, to the case. Think Neighborhood Crime Watch on a city scale, with much cooler and real-time technology.