Re: Should Netflix and Hulu give you emergency alerts?

[Rich Kulawiec <rsk () gsp org>]

> Just wait until your connected home speakers, smart smoke detector, smart
> refrigerator, smart tv, cell phone, IP streaming box, satellite receiver,
> cable box, home security panel and your Fitbit all go off warning you
> of the cancellation of an Amber alert at 1:30am, because the good folks
> at AlertReady.Ca and Pelmorex think that everything needs to go out at
> highest precedence, because, well,  think of the children!

and

> And thus, in the first week the system was alive, alarm fatigue set in, the
> government confirmed that it cannot be trusted, and I revoked their
> privilege to use my personal devices for stuff I don't want.

This is why the service(s) should use confirmed opt-in on a per-device basis
and offer sufficient granularity that alerts are only sent to the people who
need/want them on the devices they need/want them on.  To fabricate some
examples:

Tornado alert: why, yes, I live in southwestern Kansas so definitely
send those to my home device.

Silver alert: nope.  I live in Queens and don't go out much and don't
drive, so I won't be on the road to see the license plate you're trying
to tell me about.  Never send me these.

Coastal flooding alert: maybe.  I live 130 miles from the coast and
at 550 feet, so any coastal flooding even that would affect me will be
beyond catastrophic.  So don't send that to my home device.  However,
I'm vacationing at the beach right now so send it to my mobile.

This will eliminate some of the alarm fatigue as well as reducing the
transmission requirements.  It's just a rather straightforward exercise
in database management.

---rsk