New York Archives - Social Media Explorer

Social Media Now Used To Vet Gun Applicants In New York State

Adam — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 21:43:16 +0000

New law now requires that applicants provide a complete list of former and current addresses to local authorities. … [+]The following social media accounts were created in the last three years.

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Starting this month, concealed gun owners will need to give details of their social media accounts. These will be checked for character and conduct. This new law, recently in effect in New York City, is part of an August law that tried to keep some firearms limits in place after the Supreme Court ruled that all citizens are entitled to personal protection.

Kathy Hochul, the Governor of New York signed the bill into Law in July. She noted at that time that mass shooters had “telegraphed their intention to harm others online”.

The new law requires applicants to give local officials a list with current and past social media accounts for the last three years. Local sheriffs, judges and country clerks can then go through the profiles to see if any applicants make statements that suggest dangerous conduct.

The new law is not for everyone.

Local officials may have been asked if they have the necessary resources and, in certain cases, if the law actually is constitutional. Other questions to be considered include whether the best “mirror”, social media, is actually the most efficient, for one’s mental condition.

Although research is not conclusive, it does indicate that social media posts often reveal a person’s mental state. “This effect is stronger in people with more extreme feelings,” stated Colin Campbell (associate professor of marketing at University of San Diego’s Knauss School of Business, and editor-in–chief of Journal of Advertising Research.

Some people have a dim view of the potential uses for technology.

Jim Purtilo (associate professor of computer science, University of Maryland) said that setting up a process that demands all of the social media be read and judged “seems like a plan for stonewalling the approval process.”

“Leaving aside the policy’s sketchy constitutionality, bureaucrats will be free to pick and choose who should receive consideration – a blatantly political practice,” added Purtilo.

Hacking the System

It is true in some of the recent mass shootings that some of the individuals – notably young men – have dropped hints on the social platforms. The gunman responsible for the shooting deaths of 19 school children in Uvalde and two teachers at Uvalde Elementary School, Texas was a perfect example.

But it is still unclear if people would give what law enforcement wants to see and, more importantly, what they might want to keep secret.

Campbell stated that it was a problem to know whether applicants submitted full lists of social media accounts. Campbell suggested that people could make a conscious decision to show only those accounts they think will be liked, or they might lie and claim they don’t have any social media accounts. Multiple accounts can be created under different pseudonyms to share content and anonymously follow other accounts.

One option would be for law enforcement to work directly with the social media services, but that could be time-consuming – and could miss key red flags.

Campbell added that having them search all the accounts related to a person’s email address and telephone number is a better way of discovering all their accounts. Even better would be to search for a person by their IP address and device IDs. It would be necessary to create software that can reliably gather this data from users. However, this is possible as Apple and other companies send their users links on their phones to gather device information for troubleshooting.

What’s the Deal?

The problem is that people with common names can be confused with others. This could result in some being denied despite doing nothing wrong – just as individuals have erroneously ended up on no-fly lists or terrorist watch lists. Campbell stated that this highlights the importance of law enforcement working directly with social media companies to conduct these searches.

Purtilo responded that things could get more complicated.

“Speaking in technologist terms, I can predict that this will be a disaster when it comes to managing identities credentials,” he said.

How to assign social media activity to the correct person Purtilo stated that authentication is already costly and will only get more complicated as the stakes rise. Officials could take applicants’ word on traffic. In that instance, we would see big businesses in fake accounts made to pass inspection. While officials can check accounts online independently, good luck with making connections.

Purtilo pointed out that Elon Musk has stopped buying Twitter. The service can’t even determine which accounts belong to real people. Officials could also insist on account validations, but that would create a huge mess. It’s not something that even the industry can do cost-effectively.

Bad Decisions and the Context

Employers are beginning to look at the profiles on social media of applicants for jobs. This raises the question: should actions taken many years ago have any impact on someone’s job prospects today? This is true of other areas as well.

One could argue that someone who threatened or made violent acts years ago may still pose danger to others today. It is not clear whether someone should be disqualified from a right that the Constitution has granted to them for years.

While it is possible that social media content doesn’t age well over time, I believe law enforcement will focus on the whole of an individual’s post. Campbell said that Campbell would be able to guess that no single posting would trigger rejection. To give an objective and more comprehensive view of a person’s content, automated AI-based tools can also read emotions in text and images.

One counter argument is that one might clean up their profiles before applying for such permits.

Campbell added that users always have the ability to hide or delete content on social media. This reinforces why it is valuable for law enforcement and social media companies to collaborate directly.”

What about those without social media?

Social media has been a warning to many for years that it will be “forever.” So, the question now is how does one deal with the fact that this is an essential part of the selection process and yet you don’t have much presence on social media? Are those who decided not to post all aspects of their lives – good and bad moments alike – going to be punished for not taking part?

Campbell stated that people are increasingly turning off social media.

That could lead some to being denied – not for showing anti-social tendencies, but because they were anti-social media.

“And at end of it all, this policy codifies a selection bias – it only checks the supposed temperaments of people who happen to be on social media,” noted Purtilo. “So much to equal treatment under law.”

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The Empire State Strikes Back – Calls For New Measures To Track ‘Hateful Conduct’ On Social Media

Adam — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 20:25:53 +0000

This bill requires social media sites to publish a simple and straightforward policy about how they use the information. … [+]They would address hateful behavior on their platform

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New York’s governor Kathy Hochul, along with state legislators, announced a broad gun control package. The bill will make New York the first state to ban body armor sales, and the main component of it would mandate licenses for semi-automatic rifles. It would require 21-years-olds to apply for the license, an increase from current federal laws that allow 18-year olds to purchase long guns.

Hochul said that New York already has some the strictest gun laws in the nation, and that they must be made even more strong. Working closely with Majority leader Stewart-Cousins and Speaker Heastie as well as all our legislative partners, we will improve our gun laws to keep New Yorkers safe and give law enforcement the tools it needs to stop crime and spread dangerous weapons.

The bill, in addition to limiting gun sales, would also require social media platforms to create a policy that outlines how they will respond to hateful behavior on their platforms. It would also allow them to make it easy to report hateful acts. New York also proposes the establishment of a Task Force on Social Media, Violent Extremism at the Attorney General. This Task Force could investigate and examine the role played by social media companies in encouraging and supporting violent extremism as well as domestic terrorist acts online.

The Response to The Buffalo Mass Shooting

New York’s Attorney General Letitia Jacob has expressed concern about the reaction of the social network following the massacre that took place at Buffalo’s Groceries.

James said that “the terror attack at Buffalo has once more exposed the depths, danger, and potential for the online forums to spread hate,” he told reporters.

A manifesto was posted by the suspect on Google. Then, the killer live-streamed the shooting death of 10 others on Amazon’s Twitch. Although the stream was removed less than two minutes following the violence, the video was reproduced by other streaming websites. The video could even have been viewed three million times before being removed.

“The social media platforms have not done enough to remove the content. But, when the live stream is recorded, the video can be captured and shared elsewhere,” said Professor Jason Mollica from the American University’s school of communication in Washington, D.C.

Fighting Dangerous Content and Conduct

Social media platforms are being criticized for spreading misinformation and disinformation. It has been a difficult task to combat it. It will not be easy to address hateful and extremist behavior.

Mollica said, “We heard and saw what these platforms can do, and have shown that they can try to address it.” We’ve seen it time after time that the information will be out. There’s always a solution.

This is true even half-way around the globe in Ukraine where social media proved to be an invaluable digital resource for some of the conflict zone residents. Similar to the Arab Spring, social media was a crucial link of communication that allowed those who were involved in it ten years ago. Even though attempts were made to cut off communication, it was still possible to receive information.

New York might face similar difficulties.

Mollica explained that “It will still be difficult for a staff to attempt to monitor every post.” Mollica said, “You could create an office. But where is the funding? The ability to’restrict extremeism’ is available, as well as the possibility of taking down accounts. Although this will close a gap, it will not stop the flow of information. It is just the way social media works.

Mollica said that while the idea of New York State’s plans is admirable and necessary, she still doesn’t believe it will be successful. While it would be wonderful if each state had an equivalent task force, and that we formed a group to combat hateful content on social media, this will prove difficult.

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Top Law Schools in New York

Mary Smith — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 18:34:19 +0000

Top Law Schools in New York

Andrew Napolitano is a highly successful attorney, judge, and educator. Mr. Napolitano attended Princeton University and Notre Dame Law school. Mr. Napolitano did all of his undergraduate studies at Princeton University and then he went on to receive his J.D. from Notre Dame Law school. Mr. Napolitano is a Newark, New Jersey native. After graduating from law school and passing the bar in New Jersey back in 1975, he started a private practice as a litigator. One of his first teaching jobs was for one year at the Delaware School of Law; this was back in 1980 and ended in 1981. Mr. Napolitano has published and authored nine books on the topics of politics and legalities. He was a New Jersey Supreme Court judge for over eight years, from the late 1980s until the mid-1990s. He taught as a visiting professor at Brooklyn Law School. He was also a trial and legal news analyst for Fox News. So his experience spans many different areas of law & politics.

Napolitano has a few law schools that he considers to stand out in the New York state area. He believes the law schools to be the best in this area are Columbia University School of Law, New York University School of Law, and St. John’s University School of Law.

St. John’s University School of Law: New York City

St. John’s University School of Law is on the list of America’s top 100 law schools. This is a Catholic University and it is a private school. An advantage to attending Saint John’s University School of Law is that the LSAT score required for entrance to the school is lower than most institutions. There are not a lot of students competing to attend the University, so the applications are minimal. This institution only has about 250 law students yearly. The school is expensive to attend and is located in Queens, New York.

New York University School of Law

The New York University School of Law is one of the more prominent law schools in New York and America. The school has a student body of over 1600 students. The school is home-based in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. This is one of the more challenging schools to get into because of its popularity. The school is known to produce the best attorneys because of its extensive and challenging curriculum NYU is a historic school and has been in existence since 1831. If an individual is accepted into NYU, they will be in an elite class of attorneys. The graduates of this school usually always pass the bar and receive some of the highest salaries for new graduate attorneys.

Columbia University School of Law
Columbia University School of Law is possibly the best law school in America. When an individual graduates from this program as an attorney, they get some of the most prestigious job offers that pay incredibly high. Getting accepted into this law school is very competitive. The university is small and private and the average student body is just under three hundred and fifty students. The school is very picky about the students they accept into their program—the reason is that every law student who takes the bar exam passes. Columbia University School of Law has a passing rate above 97%. This is why Andrew Napolitano thinks it is one of the best universities to study law.

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Best Restaurants in New York

Mary Smith — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 19:06:09 +0000

New York City has some of the best restaurants in the world. Judge Napolitano can recommend some great places to eat. He has some suggestions for some great places to have world class meals.

Buvette

This restaurant resembles a café in Paris. There are smaller tables and some soft lights. There are many great dishes including the gigot d’agneau or leg of lamb. It is worth saving room for dessert and having a taste of the chocolate mousse. There is also an extensive wine list.

Mercado Little Spain

This is an ambitious restaurant that has some great food. The tortilla de patata is worth trying. There are many great seafood dishes and all of the food is prepared fresh.

Teranga

This restaurant offers some fish from Africa. The chef was born in Senegal. Pierre Thiam has been cooking for a long time and he is even the author of several cookbooks. The name of the restaurant translates to good hospitality. The restaurant has a warm and welcoming theme.

Upland

For those that like a spacious booth and some great dishes this is the place to stop. The short ribs are a favorite as well as the crispy duck wings that come with a yuzu kosho sauce. This restaurant can recommend a wine to go with the food and they have experts that will pair it well. This is one of Andrew Napolitano’s favorite places to eat.

Olmsted

Here is a good place to get some fresh fish and some great vegetables. The dishes are diverse. There are plenty of options to choose from. There is a make your smores dessert that is worth checking out after a meal.

The Four Horsemen

This establishment has a cozy feel to it. There is music playing the entire time. There is an entire page of the menu dedicated to specific types of wine. The list will change from day to day to keep everything fresh and offer a new dining experience. The wine will pair well with the food served here and the music gives it a great vibe.

Wildair

This is a tight space with high tables and stools but it is worth the experience. The pistachio salad is something that people cannot stop talking about. The clams with XO in almond broth are worth tasting along with the tartare.

Raoul’s

This is a restaurant in Soho that is in an old building. The restaurant still has white table cloths and a tin ceiling. The burger au Poivre is one of the best dishes here. It is topped with cheese and a great sauce. To finish off the meal a person should try the banana coconut pudding. This is a place where a person can get a feel for the old school New York and enjoy a meal while they are at it.

These are some of the best restaurants to eat while in New York. There is something for every taste and a person can get some of the best food in the world.

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7 Revelations from the Corporate Social Media Summit

Drew Neisser — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 14:10:13 +0000

While the citizens of Great Britain were contemplating a departure from the European Union, more than 300 social media devotees convened in Brooklyn at the Corporate Social Media Summit to challenge, if not leave behind, the conventional wisdom of years past. Though the outcome of this gathering was hardly of the historical significance of the Brexit vote, it did yield a new vision for marketers seeking to get the most out of their social media activities.

Pledge of Allegiance

Marketers as diverse as Coca-Cola, Hershey, Humana, H&R Block, the Kansas City Chiefs, Wells Fargo and Wilson Sporting Goods are pledging to a customer-first approach to social media. This means dedicating sufficient resources (i.e., staff and tools) to respond to customer issues via social media in minutes rather than hours or days.

“Businesses who are doing great #customerservice on #Twitter are seeing immense opportunity.” @jefflesser #CSMNY pic.twitter.com/iI36017jGs

— Dan Gingiss (@dgingiss) June 21, 2016

Social customer service specialists are now being integrated into the overall customer service team with a dotted line back to the marketing folks. As Kimarie Matthews of Wells Fargo put it, “Social media is no longer a marketing channel — it is a customer experience.”

IRS: Intentional Responding Service

With a renewed commitment to social customer service, brands are seeking to resolve issues in channel, aided by innovations from Facebook and Twitter. According to Joshua March of Conversocial, Facebook’s Messenger platform is “the first channel that really makes a dent in phone calls.”

Jeff Lesser provided an update on Twitter’s new customer service offering that includes the ability to DM (direct message), respond in private and then poll c-sat at the end of the exchange. This feature has huge potential, given that 80% of customer service issues are raised on Twitter and the volume of such tweets has increased 2.5 times since 2014.

@Twitter says they see a decrease of 80% in costs for each cost per resolution when it comes to social care online vs. phone. #CSMNY

— Hannah Slaven (@hannahgslaven) June 21, 2016

Poll the Populace

Forward-thinking brands like Hershey’s and Wilson Sporting Goods are using social media as a laboratory for both new product development and real-time responding. Kevin Hack, Hershey’s social intelligence leader, explained how they deflected a groundswell of negativity around Reese’s tree-shaped peanut butter cups by responding to complaints with an “all trees are beautiful” message. Amy Weisenbach, Wilson’s SVP of Marketing, offered a similar endorsement of social as THE place to “listen, analyze and learn.”

Reporting should have value. Reporting should instigate action! – @kevinhack #CSMNY

— John Affourtit (@JTA4T) June 20, 2016

Social (Media) Security

In a metaphorical call-to-arms, Jenny Wolfram of Brand Bastian sounded the alarm about the lurking dangers for socially active brands’ overall public image and reputation. As Wolfram noted, “The trend is for the public to hold brands accountable for negative and/or inappropriate comments,” citing a specific example of responses on a paid post that led to death threats. Brands need to be constantly monitoring and removing harmful comments because consumers consider these comments part of the paid ad, explained Wolfram.

#socialmedia has made brands a part of the conversation. customers expect you to react to controversy promptly and empathetically #CSMNY

— Digimind (@digimindci) June 21, 2016

You are expected as a brand to react to hatespeach, threats, and bullying. @JennyWolfram #CSMNY

— Mark Obee (@obeesocial) June 21, 2016

Keep the comment section of your ads clean or consumers won’t believe that you can keep their data safe. #CSMNY

— Matt Hannaford (@mhannaford) June 21, 2016

A Vote of Confidence

Though metrics are always an issue at such confabs, the consensus at this year’s Corporate Social Media Summit was that social shares are by far the most critical and important measure of engagement. As James Royer, social chief for the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, put it, “Your content is just content — it’s only truly social once your customers share it.” Furthermore, the implied value of social shares (and your content, by extension) comes from the fact that “people share what they care about.”

Engagement goes beyond, Likes and Comments, it’s about sharing. Because people share what they care about. #CSMNY

— Matt Hannaford (@mhannaford) June 21, 2016

This distinction between content and social media was a revelation for many attendees and was backed up with a case study of how the Chiefs garnered all sorts of pre-Brexit fans via social media when the team played in London.

The Price of Liberty

Although much of the conversation during the two-day conference focused on organic social media content and customer service, the importance of paid support surfaced like an unwelcomed tax collector. An exasperated Royer shared a chart of how organic reach for the Chiefs’ Facebook page had declined 40% in six months, making paid support a necessity rather than a casual consideration.

Great discussions today at #CSMNY common theme….content needs a bit of paid boost for your audience to engage.

— Gina Michnowicz (@GinaMichnowicz) June 20, 2016

Other brands spoke to the necessity of boosted posts and the overall effectiveness of targeted spending on Facebook via Custom Audience and Lookalike buys. As the conference emcee put it, “We need to put the ‘media’ back into ‘social media.’”

Power to the Peeps

Several presenters spoke to the opportunity, if not the necessity, of activating employees and social influencers as a means of increasing the reach of social content. Sociabble’s Trina Chaimongkol explained how employee advocacy programs could be carefully constructed to deliver millions of meaningful social impressions.

Employees well informed on social media strategies catapults a company from transactional selling to #socialselling #CSMNY

— Digimind (@digimindci) June 21, 2016

The digital experiences companies are creating for their customers should also be created for their employees #CSMNY #employeeadvocacy

— Lauren Gerstner (@LGerst) June 21, 2016

Konstanze Alex-Brown described in depth how Dell has cultivated a handpicked group of influencers. Alex-Brown’s recipe for success with influencers included choosing them selectively, nurturing them as individuals, and providing a fair exchange of value, like exclusive access to executives and guaranteeing an “independence of opinion that never gets compromised.”

@Dell doesn’t buy influencers, but works hard at building long term relationships. Great insights @Konstanze #CSMNY. pic.twitter.com/iuZEjJchHR

— BrandBastion (@BrandBastion) June 21, 2016

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How Social Media Makes Navigating New York a Walk in the Park

Teddy Hunt — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 11:00:54 +0000

New York City is a sprawling metropolis filled with countless things to do and places to see. In the city that never sleeps, 8.3 million people are holding art shows, dining out, attending concerts, and doing chores at all hours of the day. How can you keep up with so many things happening 24/7?

Whether you’re a native or just stopping by to see the sights, these five social media-powered apps can help you navigate The Big Apple.

It Helps You Navigate Subways

Image via Flickr by rafaj

The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) maintains 6,311 subway cars, 24 subway lines, and 659 miles of track—a dizzying number of interlocking parts for anyone not familiar with subterranean mass transit. Luckily, apps like KICKMap NYC Subway Map are available on most smart phones and take guesswork out of the subway equation. This handy app provides day and evening maps, step-by-step directions for transferring between lines, and GPS tracking to help you figure out where you are and where to go next. You can even share directions with friends via e-mail, Twitter, or Web Link.

It Finds You Things to Do

Image via Flickr by jenschapter3

Your social media news feeds are prime locations for scoping out fun things to do in New York. Some companies devote entire blogs and magazines to advertising all sorts of interesting events in the worlds of film, theater, music, nightlife, and more. Time Out New York, for example, neatly tags and organizers every social gathering you can imagine in the Big Apple by type, date, price, popularity, and more. They also compile thousands of restaurant, bar, and venue reviews. Of course, you’ll want to make sure your devices are hooked up to a reliable internet connection as New York is easier to navigate via web-based resources.

It Keeps Your Belly Full

Image via Flickr by ayesamson

No trip to New York City is complete without a sampling of the fine international cuisine on practically every block. But why make the trip across town to find just the dish you were looking for when you can easily place your order online and have it delivered. Seamless does exactly that. All you have to do is think of what you’d like to eat, type in your address, and peruse the 12,000 delivery/carry-out menus in their archives. Friend them on Facebook to find exclusive deals and plenty of ideas if you’re not quite sure what to order.

It Makes Central Park a Walk in the… Well, You Know

Image via Flickr by vagueonthehow

The 840-acre Central Park in the heart of New York City offers citizens an oasis of natural beauty and peaceful escape from the concrete jungle. It’s one of the most popular and storied parks in the entire United States and as such offers plenty to do. Central Park NYC Lite for iPod/iPhone contains a repository of over 100 points of interest in the park, including detailed stories about landmarks like Bethesda Fountain, Shakespeare Garden, and Belvedere Castle. Even if you’re not a history buff, you can still use the app for simpler things, like locating the nearest restroom.

It Helps You Meet New People

Image via Flickr by Sheconomy®

Moving to a big city by yourself can be daunting and alienating, especially if you don’t know anyone when you arrive. Lucky for you, groups like the New York Social Network organize activities nearly every day of the week. You’ll see everything from karaoke get-togethers to wine tasting tours to volunteer night at the homeless shelter. Regardless of what the occasion, NYSN’s main goal is to help people, single or not, to expand their social circles and meet new friends. This kind of networking is your most valuable asset while you’re trying to navigate the most populated city in the US. Locals can help lead you to new and exciting places and activities you might not have discovered otherwise, or could even put in a good word for you and help you find a job.

New York City is a place unlike any other. Utilize the power of social networking apps so you can make the most of your time in the Big Apple.

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