Tran Harry – The Economy Needs A Fix

I just saw a tiny link a moment ago while browsing through Myspace in regards to an Amber Alert in my local area. Problem was it wasn’t all that obvious, and it was only hidden slightly in the top left corner of my screen. I think this is a great idea to possibly stem the rate of child kidnappings if used appropriately.

My theory is that people are not annoyed by Amber Alerts simply because they know what an Amber Alert means, it means a child has gone lost, missing, or kidnapped. And everyone with a nice side is willing to take a second to look at an Amber Alert if they know or hear about it.

So with that said, why not put it right in front of everyone’s face. I have read a recent article about how Facebook was able to get over 150 million users active on their network within a 5 year period, well that is 150 million open eyes willing to take a glance at an Amber Alert I’m sure. Let’s just take a second and be intrusive, ever heard of impressions? Why don’t we put some of those up, I deal with annoying impressions, which are ads that are plastered across my entire screen, for worst things such as fat burning pills already. I would gladly take a moment to glance at an Alert that may save a child’s life.

So I know how Marketers always act considerate of the consumers feelings and needs, most of the time at least, but this is one thing I think will really work. Imagine a system where Facebook, (and I use Facebook openly as Myspace works too) will flash an impression across a users screen once every 48 hours tracked completely by the users cookies so it won’t come on too often, but this screen will give a quick glimpse of the child’s description and picture as well as the description of the deviant, such as the car or height and weight.

We already use a text system for those who sign up, we use traffic warning displays, and we use the local news. But why not use something so targeted that you can literally impact those in the neighborhood with the Alert?

I think overall only the most deviant of criminals will be willing to take a risk of kidnapping any children if they knew that in an hour they could be described across the computer screens of 100,000 people in a matter of an hour and worried about someone spotting them and reporting it to the authorities.