Did the terror suspect NYC emergency alert fail the clarity test?

The buzz in my pocket and tone ringing though our packed railroad car startled me from a light sleep. Everyone’s phone was making the same noise.

I knew, instinctively, that it was an emergency alert and, for a split second, I imagined the worst. After all, it arrived less than 48 hours after a pair of bombings in the New York City area, one in the heart of Manhattan that had injured 29.

I pulled my iPhone from my pocket and saw this.

“EMERGENCY ALERT

WANTED: Ahmad Khan Rahami, 28-yr-old-male. See media for pic. Call 9-1-1 if seen.”

In my slightly groggy state, I didn’t quite understand what I was reading. Was this an amber alert for a missing person? I reread the note and realized the authorities were looking for someone. But who was this guy and what did the alert mean by “See media for pic”?

There was no media attached to the alert, nor was there a link for more information.

This alert, which has gone to literally everyone in New York City – a first, by the way – was cryptic, at best.

I looked around the train and noticed concerned and confused looks on many of my fellow commuters’ faces. I opened Google to search on the name and immediately found a picture of a young, bearded man and stories about the FBI searching for him in connection with Saturday night’s explosion in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan.

Use your technology

It’s been almost five years since I saw my first cell-phone based alert  It was a test by T-Mobile, which actually jumped the gun and ran the test days ahead of schedule. Back then, it appeared as a simple text ostensibly from the president himself, with the word "test." The President didn't send it. T-Mobile was just testing the brand new PLAN (Personal Localized Alert Network) geographically targeted alert system, which is different from the Emergency Alert System. PLAN was subsequently renamed Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA), which is the system used for the FBI's “Wanted” alert. 

Despite the strides we’ve made with mobile phones, broadband and media, this new alert didn't look much different than that old T-Mobile one. The "Wanted" alert was devoid of any links or actionable rich media. You could argue that the alerts have to be technically dumb to accommodate the simplest smartphones and poorest connections. Perhaps, but I’d counter that you could still put, at least, a link that people could choose to follow or not.

Even without links and media, the text was disturbingly opaque.

Initially, I read “See media” as an indication that there was some kind of media attached. It took me a moment to realize the alert meant “the media,” as in the industry I work for.

Digitally grabbing people, shaking them and then telling them to check “media” for the most relevant piece of information seems wrong. 

Do what you gotta do

I have no problem getting critical alerts, especially in the wake of what may have been a fresh attack on one of our nation’s busiest hubs. But any kind of mobile-based emergency alert system automatically wields incredible power and influence. That message reaches everyone in a sometimes wide and densely populated area (you can actually turn off all of these alerts, except for the ones from the president, though I would not recommend it).

The fact that none of us had ever seen an alert quite like this — essentially an FBI Wanted alert — further compounded the problem.

What I want is clarity. The message could have noted that the FBI was searching for a suspect in the Chelsea bombing, including his name, a link to his photo and some guidance on whether or not he’s assumed to be armed and dangerous.

To be fair to the officials who sent this alert, their hands are somewhat tied, too. There’s a 90-character limit (less than even standard SMS). However, my near decade crafting 140-character tweets has given me some insight into how to fit a lot of important information into a very little bit of space. 

If I had to rewrite the alert with a link, I might have tried this:

Note that the link in my alert is just a fake compressed URL to demonstrate how you can fit a link within 90 characters. Overall, I ended up with 89, which made me feel pretty good.

I may, however, have missed the point.

Maybe the FBI got it right

"Much like weather warnings, when people receive a text message alert on phone, it traditionally acts as a trigger to seek more info, not the end-all-be-all info for information," Gina Eosco said.

Eosco, whom I reached by phone a few hours after I got the alert, should know. She's a risk communication expert with Eastern Research Group and regularly consults with the National Weather Service on their watch/advisory system for weather alerts. 

These 90 character alerts can include images and even links, but there are reasons, Eosco noted, that the FBI might have avoided both. 

An image would have made the message considerably larger (in file size). "[Then] you could over-power system and break it," she said. 

As for a link, Eosco believes the FBI could have included one. However, "strictly from a communication point of view, if you want the message to propagate more, then you are going to depend on a U.S. media system that will more widely get the information out."

She also added that the FBI is likely depending on the media to cover the news of the wanted suspect in-depth. 

Eosco makes a strong case for the FBI providing virtually the exact WEA alert it sent Monday morning. Still, I believe that even without links and images, it could have worded it more clearly and added that critical detail about Rahami being a suspect in the Chelsea bombing.

Stand down

Once most of us on the train satisfied our curiosity by reading news reports on the suspect – all of which included his picture – we quickly realized that it was unlikely he was on the train with us and that there was nothing we could do as we sped at 70 mph into the city.

I did keep my eyes peeled in Penn Station, though. So, thank you FBI and WEA for letting me know this suspect is somewhere on the loose in New York City. Next, time, please include a photo or link to more information.