Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Social Media
  3. News

London firefighters start safety campaign using selfies

By
london firefighters use selfies as fire safety education tools alarm
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Seeing people in uniform take selfies is generally amusing because the pictures provide a glimpse at the person underneath the authority. And that humanizing element is why police departments are starting to ban cop selfies — they don’t want to undermine the seriousness of the office. 

But the London Fire Brigade is taking a more positive approach to selfies, and instead of banning them, they’re using them to spread fire safety awareness leading up to a firefighter’s strike on September 25. The strike will last for four hours and there is a contingency plan, so it’s highly unlikely that there will be an uptick in fires without firefighters, but the department is using this opportunity to remind people about fire safety.  

Recommended Videos

The brigade is asking people on social media to tag photos of themselves taking steps to prevent fires. In a press release, the brigade encouraged photos of users testing their smoke alarms, keeping an eye on their cooking, properly disposing of cigarettes, and taking other preventative measures. Users who take these pictures are asked to tag them #safetyselfie. Hundreds have been posted to Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, some by members of the fire brigade, and others from people who like the campaign. 

 
Post by London Fire Brigade.

And the idea of using social media to launch public safety awareness campaigns appears to have caught on across the pond. A police department in North Carolina also urged residents to get on social media and showcase safety tips:

The North Carolina campaign is focused on child safety, so the pictures don’t have anything to do with fire, which might confuse people looking at the hashtag and expecting to see the London campaign — but is generally a positive indication that this idea is spreading, and other departments and institutions will start to think more creatively when it comes to using selfies as educational tools instead of for humble/totally-not-humblebragging.

Topics
Kate Knibbs
Kate Knibbs
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kate Knibbs is a writer from Chicago. She is very happy that her borderline-unhealthy Internet habits are rewarded with a…
Bluesky barrels toward 1 million new sign-ups in a day
Bluesky social media app logo.

Social media app Bluesky has picked nearly a million new users just a day after exiting its invitation-only beta and opening to everyone.

In a post on its main rival -- X (formerly Twitter) -- Bluesky shared a chart showing a sudden boost in usage on the app, which can now be downloaded for free for iPhone and Android devices.

Read more
How to make a GIF from a YouTube video
woman sitting and using laptop

Sometimes, whether you're chatting with friends or posting on social media, words just aren't enough -- you need a GIF to fully convey your feelings. If there's a moment from a YouTube video that you want to snip into a GIF, the good news is that you don't need complex software to so it. There are now a bunch of ways to make a GIF from a YouTube video right in your browser.

If you want to use desktop software like Photoshop to make a GIF, then you'll need to download the YouTube video first before you can start making a GIF. However, if you don't want to go through that bother then there are several ways you can make a GIF right in your browser, without the need to download anything. That's ideal if you're working with a low-specced laptop or on a phone, as all the processing to make the GIF is done in the cloud rather than on your machine. With these options you can make quick and fun GIFs from YouTube videos in just a few minutes.
Use GIFs.com for great customization
Step 1: Find the YouTube video that you want to turn into a GIF (perhaps a NASA archive?) and copy its URL.

Read more
I paid Meta to ‘verify’ me — here’s what actually happened
An Instagram profile on an iPhone.

In the fall of 2023 I decided to do a little experiment in the height of the “blue check” hysteria. Twitter had shifted from verifying accounts based (more or less) on merit or importance and instead would let users pay for a blue checkmark. That obviously went (and still goes) badly. Meanwhile, Meta opened its own verification service earlier in the year, called Meta Verified.

Mostly aimed at “creators,” Meta Verified costs $15 a month and helps you “establish your account authenticity and help[s] your community know it’s the real us with a verified badge." It also gives you “proactive account protection” to help fight impersonation by (in part) requiring you to use two-factor authentication. You’ll also get direct account support “from a real person,” and exclusive features like stickers and stars.

Read more