Missing Children App - Crowd-Sourcing the Search
Recently the Internet went and voted for hundreds (seriously, I went through every category) of Webby entries. Some categories are admittedly on the strange side - like "best gif", best website design in various industries, best use of animation, best "city & urban innovation", etc.
According to the About section of the site, "The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet. ... Reflecting the tremendous growth of the Internet, The Webbys now honors excellence in 5 major media types: Websites, Advertising & Media, Online Film & Video, Mobile Sites & Apps, and Social."
The program has allows two winners, basically. One for the actual Webby Award and a second for the People's Choice.
Find a fast Internet connection and check them out. Fair warning, do this on your free time. You will find something interesting and want to see it for yourself. For example, one honoree from 2015 was the Monroe, La., Police Department's website design. (A belayed congrats!)
But I wanted to point out one recipient's of a People's Choice award (see title of blog). They won for the Best Use of GPS or Location Technology. If that's not specific of a category enough, I'm not sure what the Webby organization can do for you - what would you prefer, "best use of gerunds in a headline"?
Best Use of GPS or Location Technology: Missing Child Lock Screens
The category is judged by the "website, app, or tablet experience" that makes the most out of an "innovative, creative, useful" and most importantly must be "functional". The app changes a participant's phone lock screen to a picture of a local missing child. It doesn't take much to figure out the inspiration, but a video explaining the app puts out an unsettling statistic: "Children who go missing in China for more than one hour are unlikely ever to be found again."
One.
Hour.
It starts like an Amber Alert. The app first changes the screens of users in a small mile radius to a page about the missing child - name, age, contact number, and a photo - then pushes out further creating a wider and wider circle over time. The genius is in its simplicity. Nearly everyone has a smartphone, and every one of those has a lock screen. This just utilizes that space to push vital information when necessary. If someone sees the child, they hit a "report" button - GPS location data gets reported and the search narrows.
Unless you turn them off emergency notifications are already on your phone. Amber Alerts, for example, puts out some details on area, direction, and vital information like plate numbers. I see Missing Child Lock Screens taking this concept and just pushing it one step further.
As innovative as this idea is, the app doesn't seem to be available here in the US yet.
I hope it will.
Jonathan Kozlowski
Jonathan Kozlowski was with Officer.com, Law Enforcement Technology, and Law Enforcement Product News from August 2006 to 2020.
As former Managing Editor for Officer Media Group, he brought a dedicated focus to the production of the print publications and management of the Officer.com online product and company directory. You can connect with Jonathan through LinkedIn.
Jonathan participated as a judge for the 2019 and 2020 FOLIO: Eddie & Ozzie Awards. In 2012, he received an APEX Award of Excellence in the Technology & Science Writing category for his article on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in police work, aptly titled "No Runway Needed".