Twitter changes could disrupt how public agencies distribute information, expert says

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- After Twitter-owner Elon Musk announced new limits on its users, the CEO of a communications and public relations agency that specializes in police, fire and public schools says the move could hurt how agencies distribute information, especially when it comes to communicating with media outlets.

"We've really seen this be one of the primary ways that public safety engages with the press for several years now," said John Guilfoil, CEO of JGPR. KXAN regularly uses Twitter to track Austin police, fire, EMS and traffic information.

Musk originally said people without Twitter Blue would be limited to viewing 600 posts per day. Those that pay for the verification would get up to 6,000 views. He later upped that to 800 posts a day and 8,000 respectively.

That means if public agencies are largely using Twitter to distribute information to its local news, and the public, it may not reach as many people. Guilfoil says it's time for those agencies to look at more steady methods of communicating.

"I think it really calls attention to something I've been saying for years, and that is that the media, public safety, government, even public schools, we can't be too reliant on a single platform," he said.

Austin-Travis County EMS said it's doing just that and could lean more heavily on other social media platforms and press releases.

"Depending on what we see happen in the next couple of weeks, we may decide that we're going to make some changes to the way that we do especially emergency messaging," said Christa Stedman, a public information officer for EMS.

The police department echoed that sentiment, as did the Austin division of the Texas Department of Transportation.

"In addition to Twitter, we post on NextDoor and all of our major projects send lane closure eblasts to stakeholders who sign up online. Drivers can also go to DriveTexas.org to find out the latest lane closure information, whether it’s a crash or a planned construction closure," a spokesperson for TxDOT said.

Guilfoil urges companies to get back to the basics: Using its own website to push information and tapping into other more easily-controlled methods like newsletters and text alerts.

"Twitter might not be around forever, Facebook's not always going to be available to you or Instagram's not going to get the critical market share that you might need to reach your constituents. Start with your website," Guilfoil said.