[Press Release] : City utilizes new communications service

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 19, 2010
 
CONTACT: Toni Messina
Public Communications Director
(573) 874-7660
 
City utilizes new communications service
        
 (COLUMBIA, MO) – The city of Columbia is using a new communications
service, Nixle, that allows its agencies to send important community
information directly to residents. Nixle permits city agencies to create
and publish messages that are instantly delivered via cell phone text
message/and or e-mail to residents who have subscribed to the free
service. Notifications can also be accessed on Nixle’s website at
www.nixle.com.
“Nixle is a secure and quick way to assist us in communicating
information to the community,” said Emergency Management Director Zim
Schwartze. “The Public Safety Joint Communications department and the
Office of Emergency Management will be able to send messages based on
the incident to those who have signed up. This includes rapid
notification of a crash that may be blocking traffic, a tornado watch
that has been issued, roads that have flooded or even a community event
that is coming up. It is a great way to stay informed with the city of
Columbia.”
The following city agencies are already participating in the service:
the Columbia/Boone County Office of Emergency Management, Public Safety
Joint Communications, Columbia Fire Department, Columbia Police
Department, Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human
Services and the Public Communications Department. 
To register, citizens should visit the city’s website at
www.GoColumbiaMo.com. They can then decide from which local agencies
they want to receive information. Subscribers can also choose the way in
which alerts are received, whether by e-mail, text message or over the
Web. There is no spam and no hidden cost, but standard text messaging
rates do apply. 
Nixle builds on the foundations of other public-to-public communication
services, such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace, but adds a key
component: security. When citizens receive information from the city via
Nixle, they know it can be trusted. 
"Nixle has developed a community information service providing a
single, secure source for access to credible real-time community
information,” says Fire Battalion Chief Steven Sapp. “Nixle’s advantage
over social networking sites is the security and reliability the public
should expect from their local government sources."
Privately funded Nixle, which has offices in New Jersey and California,
is free to all governments, their agencies and organizations,
nongovernmental organizations and consumers.

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