The District of Columbia alert system (Alert DC) has just notified me that Tropical Storm Fay is no longer a threat to Washington D.C. The problem is that it never bothered to tell me in the first place that it could be one.

I have been a subscriber of the service for quite a few years, and it never ceases to amuse me how erratic, inconsistent, and unhelpful the system is. The issue is not so much that SMS and e-mail subscriptions do not work, because they do, but the fact that the management behind the system is so arbitrary as to almost render it useless.

This seemed to be the common patter of the service during the previous administration, where high profile notifications such as a severe thunderstorms or the risk of flash flooding was announced, were mixed with random local and strangly prioritized neighborhood services, for instance notifying of a utility pipe that had just been fixed or a request to find an elderly lady that might be lost downtown. All of these notifications where being sent when major road closures could happen in front of your eyes, a snowstorm being about to close a significant part of town, or demonstrations about to affect significant traffic patterns in the city. It simply seemed a random system that whoever was in control would put in motion without a clear criteria, preferences, or consistent follow through.

The system under the current administration seemed to be gearing in the right direction. It offers far more advanced subscription choices to sort out the level and type of messages that one would like to receive, being able to select neighborhoods where one had a particular interest and/or specific topics such as school closures, or weather alerts. And yet, already in its second year in office the alert system seems to go be stuck in the same place. And that is not laughing matter.

Today's SMS warning me about the diminishing threat of Tropical Storm Fay in the region was followed by an e-mail outlining the procedures to prepare for hurricanes and other hazards that may affect the zone. While helpful, it would have really meaningful to receive it before hand. Another issue that would be very interesting to understand is the profile of the subscribers and how they may have changed over time. As it happens with any other social network, erratic and unreliable information will discourage future users and push plenty of the current ones to unsubscribe, which renders these alert notification systems as an empty PR and bureaucratic procedure lacking the substance to better protect its citizens.

The basic technology seems to be in place. Now the management behind it needs to make a dedicated effort to be cogent, consistent, and reliable while it supports and fosters the potential network of users that encompass all those living and passing through the national capital region.