Echosec redefines searching the Internet by combining social media posts with geographic data.
The Echosec solution provides public safety, security, journalism and intelligence professionals with real-time knowledge gathered from publicly available social media posts. Echosec does so by delivering a unique way of displaying real-time, user driven information about natural disasters, wars, and other global events. This makes it an invaluable resource for anyone simply looking to get more from the web than what conventional search engines can provide. Echosec will change the way you see your world.
The Echosec tool makes it simple to see what is going on, on the ground, in real time. A user draws a box or ‘geo-fence’ around an area of interest on the map within the Echosec application. Then, all of the publicly available and geo-tagged social media posts within that geo-fence are live streamed onto the map.
Echosec was incorporated in summer of 2013 in Victoria, BC. The founding team was comprised of Mike Anderson, Nick Turner, and Jason Jubinville. In 2016, an additional office was opened in Cardiff, Wales. Echosec has been able to leverage key aspects of the Alacrity Foundation to accelerate Echosec’s growth into a global provider of location-based social media monitoring software.
About the Software
Echosec is a web application that searches social media and other open source information by location. It runs social media API requests and taps third party information repositories to produce composite results which are live streamed to the end user. Echosec contacts many feeds including Instagram, Twitter, Foursquare, Panoramio, AIS Shipping, Sina Weibo, Flickr, YouTube, VK, and more, all within one second.
When it comes to purchasing the service, customers have two options; Echosec PRO and Echosec Enterprise. PRO offers advanced filtering, over ten social data sources, and Esri data layers. Enterprise offers alerts and notifications, real-time streaming, and multiple geo fences. Click here for more information on the difference between the two versions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pWytp-vPD0
Awards
Civic Service Award – March 18, 2015
Created by the Victoria Police Department, the Civic Service Award recognizes outstanding work done by officers and citizens to make Victoria a safer place. It was awarded to the Echosec team after their geographical-based search software helped the Victoria Police save a life.
2016 Viatec Technology Awards- June 28, 2016
Awarded “Innovative Excellence – Software or Service” at the 2016 Viatec Technology Awards.
Cardiff Business Awards (Ben Milsom)
Echosec’s Ben Milsom was awarded “Young Business Person of the Year” at the 2016 Cardiff Business Awards. Ben Milsom is the head of Echosec’s UK business development.
Key Challenges
With such a powerful application, there are understandably some challenges when it comes to privacy. The Echosec team acknowledges the importance of individual privacy and has been working hard to comply with privacy regulations around the world. On top of this, they are also faced with the challenge of managing the frequently updating social media application program interfaces (API’s).
Partners
Echosec is partnered with Motorola Solutions, GBGroup, and ESRI.
