{"id":3234,"date":"2017-02-28T21:14:21","date_gmt":"2017-03-01T04:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/2017\/02\/now-streaming-on-twitch-seattle-police-blast-aliens-and-take-questions-while-playing-games\/"},"modified":"2017-02-28T21:14:21","modified_gmt":"2017-03-01T04:14:21","slug":"now-streaming-on-twitch-seattle-police-blast-aliens-and-take-questions-while-playing-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/2017\/02\/now-streaming-on-twitch-seattle-police-blast-aliens-and-take-questions-while-playing-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Now streaming on Twitch: Seattle Police blast aliens and take questions while playing games"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Seattletadalafil<\/a> http:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/policetwitch-e1488242972469-300×244.jpg 300w, http:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/policetwitch-e1488242972469-768×626.jpg 768w, http:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/policetwitch-e1488242972469-1240×1011.jpg 1240w, http:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/policetwitch-e1488242972469-200×163.jpg 200w, http:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/policetwitch-e1488242972469-123×100.jpg 123w” sizes=”(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px”>
Members of the Seattle Police Department\u2019s public affairs office, from left, public information officer Det. Patrick Michaud, senior communications manager Jonah Spangenthal-Lee, and public affairs director Sgt. Sean Whitcomb. (Seattle Police Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Inside the Seattle Police Department, a special three-person unit known as a \u201cfire team\u201d sets out every week on a mission to protect civilization from alien threats. The workings of this team are broadcast for all to see.<\/p>\n

If this type of police work sounds especially heroic \u2014 and far-fetched \u2014 it\u2019s a little bit of both.<\/p>\n

In an effort to expand its digital engagement with the community, members of SPD\u2019s public affairs office have started\u00a0playing streaming video games on Twitch \u2014 creating an opportunity to\u00a0discuss police work with a new audience on an emerging platform.<\/p>\n

Under the handle\u00a0FuzzFeed206<\/a>, the group is made up of Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, SPD\u2019s public affairs director, along with Det. Patrick Michaud, a public information officer, and senior communications manager\u00a0Jonah Spangenthal-Lee. They\u2019re \u201cbig-time gamers,\u201d as Whitcomb characterizes them, and their work is unique.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re constantly looking for some platforms that we can use to share the word and do our job, which is digital engagement,\u201d said Whitcomb, who has been with the department for 22 years, the last eight as head of public affairs. \u201cWe\u2019re not aware of any other police departments, or public agencies for that matter, using Twitch to communicate like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Seattle
The Seattle Police Department\u2019s FuzzFeed206 \u201cfire team\u201d \u2014\u00a0VesperBat, SeaPD80 and Project_Grizzle \u2014\u00a0on Twitch prepares to go into battle in the game \u201cDestiny.\u201d (YouTube Image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The office already uses social channels such as Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0Reddit<\/a>, Nextdoor and SPD\u2019s Blotter blog<\/a> to dispense information in a tone and voice that has attracted an audience not normally attracted to\u00a0government agency PR musings. On Twitch, the Amazon-owned streaming platform, they play \u201cDestiny,\u201d<\/a> a sci-fi first-person shooter game developed by Bellevue, Wash.-based Bungie<\/a>, which also created \u201cHalo.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 30-minute live streams, some of which are available to re-watch on YouTube<\/a>, the FuzzFeed gang goes through the motions in the game like you might expect typical teenagers would. But the broadcasts are punctuated by informative discussions on a range of police-related topics such as car prowling, vice crimes, SPD\u2019s K-9 program, sanctuary cities, robbery prevention and investigation, safe consumption and, because it\u2019s Seattle, how to drive in snow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe basically go through the week and see, \u2018Well, what\u2019s an important topic this week? What is that people want to hear from the police department about?’\u201d Whitcomb said. \u201cAnd then we just talk about it, the three of us, on the Twitch stream.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each stream covers three topics and the voices of all of the players can be heard. Whitcomb is\u00a0VesperBat, Michaud\u00a0is SeaPD80 and Spangenthal-Lee is Project_Grizzle. It\u2019s a trip to watch them blast aliens while discussing, for instance, the department\u2019s policy\u00a0on dealing with\u00a0people when it comes to their immigration status.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Creative delivery of police news<\/h3>\n

Spangenthal-Lee joined the department about five years ago after stints at Seattlecrime.com, PubliCola.com, KIRO Television and The Stranger. He said he set out to give people a reason to come directly to a government site for content, and have it be accurate, quick, interesting and creative in its delivery method.<\/p>\n

His boss, Whitcomb, said\u00a0Spangenthal-Lee\u2019s efforts have resulted in \u201ca much more candid, open,\u00a0friendly, humorous, transparent direction\u201d for the communications coming out of the department. And it\u2019s evident in talking to GeekWire, as\u00a0Spangenthal-Lee peppered his descriptions of the work with sarcasm and comedy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m bad at video games in my spare time, yes,\u201d he said when asked if he was a gamer away from work, and, \u201cAs it turns out, I have attention deficit issues, so I\u2019m great at doing a ton of things at once,\u201d he said about his\u00a0ability to talk and fire his game weapon\u00a0at the same time.<\/p>\n

But Spangenthal-Lee admitted that it\u2019s important for SPD to give people another way to communicate about police work \u201cwithout having to call 911,\u201d as he put it. While some officers have traditionally reached out to younger members of the community through sports at places such as rec centers,\u00a0Spangenthal-Lee said the department was really looking to target people who are interested in video games who may be\u00a0a little bit more introverted and might not ever\u00a0have any direct contact with police in their lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have officers who go to basketball and flag football, boxing gyms and things like that,\u201d Spangenthal-Lee said. \u201cWe wanted to provide an opportunity for that same style communication for folks that prefer video games or streaming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whitcomb called it a safe place to have\u00a0honest dialogue.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere\u2019s some police employees playing a video game, trying not to get mowed down by these space creatures talking about how to drive in the snow and not get a ticket,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The public affairs office began messing around on Twitch back in September after flirting with the idea of doing podcasts. They\u2019ve experimented with the best time to stream their \u201cDestiny\u201d play, from later in the afternoon on Thursday and Friday, to the new time of 8:30 a.m. on Tuesdays. The hope is to connect with young people who might be commuting to work or school on mass transit in the morning and have time to kill on a smart phone.<\/p>\n

Earning social credibility<\/h3>\n

Attracting and building out an audience on any platform takes time, but the group promotes its game play heavily on Reddit. And they\u2019ve had a couple viral moments on Twitter (below), interacting with David Dague, Bungie\u2019s communications director, and a \u201cDestiny\u201d voice actress \u2014 practically celebrities in the world of online gaming.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s more evidence of the office\u2019s desire for \u201ctwo-way communication\u201d and engaging\u00a0with the public in ways that can often catch people off guard \u2014 in a good way.<\/p>\n

\n

@DeeJ_BNG<\/a> No twist fate or touch of malice here. Our follow is just an ice breaker. You’ll always have the last word. And that’s the truth.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Seattle Police Dept. (@SeattlePD) September 8, 2016<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThis is total nerd gamer lore, but the voice actress for this character named Eris Morn gave us some props on Twitter basically saying, \u2018Hey, everyone, this is how police departments should be engaging with their community,’\u201d Whitcomb said. \u201cAll that stuff\u2019s really heartening and just reinforces the idea that there is a vibrant and connected community here. We just want to make that sure we\u2019re a part of it and offering up what we can as far as getting people access to policing \u2026 and some of the larger issues that we tackle like homelessness, like people are mentally ill, like pervasive property crime that doesn\u2019t always make the 5 o\u2019clock news.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

@actor_morla<\/a> Thanks. The compliment is much better than a box of raisins! https:\/\/t.co\/4amhY2Ibpq<\/a> @DeeJ_BNG<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Seattle Police Dept. (@SeattlePD) September 10, 2016<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

Dear all other police departments \u2013 @SeattlePD<\/a> Twitter patrol is on point. Take notes! ?? https:\/\/t.co\/X3TtnU8vdV<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Morla Gorrondona (@actor_morla) September 10, 2016<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

While Twitch is designed to allow people to watch other people play video games, Whitcomb said what\u2019s going on with the three men in \u201cDestiny\u201d is definitely not about saving humanity from aliens. The game is just a vehicle to hopefully bring a small slice of a massive community in front of SPD.<\/p>\n

Whitcomb said\u00a0modern-day policing in a post-Ferguson world (referencing the 2014 shooting in Missouri of a black man by a white officer) demands a lot of transparency. He said SPD has been \u201can innovator and leader in police reform\u201d and that he and Spangenthal-Lee led an effort to push video transparency forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were releasing officer-involved shooting videos typically within 24 hours for the last several years,\u201d Whitcomb said. \u201cSo we\u2019re not strangers to trying new things and not letting \u201cit\u2019s always been done this way\u201d be a barrier to experimenting with new and different ways to really measure up to community trust and expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Seattle
A screen shot of FuzzFeed206\u2019s page on Twitch. (Twitch Image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That being said, the group did have to run its project up the chain of command, past SPD Chief Kathleen O\u2019Toole and Seattle Mayor Ed Murray.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of people\u00a0just say, \u2018Yeah, go get \u2019em guys,’\u201d Whitcomb said of his department\u2019s various initiatives. \u201cAt the same time I\u2019m not sure everyone fully understands how Twitch works.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spangenthal-Lee illustrated that point by recounting how the FuzzFeed206 pitch to others in the department may have gone down.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwitch? We\u2019re already on Twitch. Don\u2019t we have a bunch of followers on there?\u201d \u2026 \u201cNo that\u2019s Twitter, that\u2019s different,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

After streaming one episode by using three different TVs in his\u00a0home \u2014 including a\u00a012-inch set that Spangenthal-Lee had to play on\u00a0in the kitchen \u2014 Whitcomb said SPD\u2019s public affairs office is kind of like a typical Seattle technology startup.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike anything else, we\u2019re basically starting off in a garage and who knows if we\u2019ll grow into something bigger,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re basically Apple. That\u2019s what he\u2019s saying,\u201d Spangenthal-Lee joked.<\/p>\n

Check out FuzzFeed206 on Twitch<\/a> and watch previous stream videos on YouTube<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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