• The New York Times, Friday, July 29, 2011 12:10 PM

The Seattle Police Department just conducted a 12-hour experiment posting almost all its emergency calls on Twitter. "It wanted citizens to see what a day in the life of the department was really like," writes The New York Times. The experiment translated into an average of 40 Twitter messages an hour, for a total of 478 by the end of the day, according to the NYT. The messages ranged from reports of car accidents and a suicide threat to hang-up calls and "suspicious person possible armed with sword."

User response? Not good. Twitter users "said the feeds were mundane and had clogged up their accounts, and they scolded the police for bad Twitter behavior." Others, however, reportedly loved the feeds, praising the department for sharing so much interesting information.

The department, meanwhile, is considering posting its 911 calls full-time, but only for readers who sign up and if the posts could be automated. What ads, if any, will run alongside said tweets is not yet know -- but we're thinking Slomin's home security services would be a nice fit.

Read the whole story at The New York Times »