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Whom to Follow, Mr. Commissioner? Don’t Mind if We Do!

Welcome to Twitter, Police Commissioner William J. Bratton â€" or shall we say @CommissBratton. Soon you’ll forget how you ever wasted time without it.

But first, sit down for a moment. Let’s chat. And let’s start with your third tweet:

We agree! Police officers are increasingly using Twitter to communicate to journalists and the rest of the public. But what kind of relationship is it when you’re not following a single account, as was the case as of 3 p.m., hours and hours after you first hit this social media world? Twitter users aren’t feeling very loved.

We get it, it can be hard to know whom to follow when you’re brand-new to this platform. So we thought we’d help you with a few suggestions. It’s not too hard to, ahem, follow along:

@rikkijklieman
Always a good idea to start with your wife. Period.

@SeattlePD
Just because you’re in law enforcement doesn’t mean you can’t loosen your collar a little. After police officers handed out bags of Doritos at a marijuana festival in Seattle, they marked the occasion with a tweet that hit every spot: a pun, a pop culture reference, a meme. A lot to learn from here.

@DPDChief
In the mood for some gossip? David O. Brown, the Dallas police chief, chooses to announce which officers he’s fired through Twitter. And look at this nice thing he said about you:

@MiamiBeachPD
The Miami Beach Police Department knows how to take advantage of a big moment. See this tweet it sent earlier Thursday:

@changethenypd
You don’t want to follow only people who agree with you, do you? That would be boring. This account would be glad to lend you suggestions:

@BronxZoosCobra
Get to know the local flora and fauna â€" You have heard about the cobra, right? It’s still out there, wreaking havoc throughout New York Twitter. Better keep an eye on it.

@RedSox
You may not be able to wear a Red Sox jacket in the Big Apple, but you’re a fan! Follow on Twitter:

Keeping Tabs on Your Performance
May we modestly suggest that you follow @nytmetro and @nytimes? If you haven’t already, you’ll get to know our reporters @jdavidgoodman, @JoeKGoldstein and @mschwirtz well.

So it’s a small list, but this will get you started. Maybe our readers below can offer their own suggestions.



A Near Bizarro World Taxi Confession

Dear Diary:

I flew into J.F.K. after a long business trip and was eager to return home to my family in Astoria. I groaned when the taxi driver explained that his machine wasn’t working properly and asked if I minded paying cash. His meter suddenly stopped working too, and both of our frustration levels went up another notch.

When we hit standstill traffic on the Van Wyck, it seemed that the trip was doomed to be among the worst cab rides ever.

Then his phone rang and I heard an excited voice on the other end. He explained that his brother-in-law, who had finally received his green card, had just arrived from Pakistan. He, too, was looking forward to a happy family reunion.

The taxi driver relayed to me his own coming-to-America story at the age of 19, and we discovered that for his first years in the city, he lived around the corner from where I live now. We swapped stories about the neighborhood and our families.

When I told him that I was an employment attorney, the conversation took an odd bent. He shared with me all his youthful indiscretions, then asked, “Am I a criminal?” I looked around for a video camera, sure that I was in a Bizarro World episode of “Taxicab Confessions.” But it was just him and me. I told him that we are not defined solely by what we’ve done, but by who we become.

Somewhere around the 31st Street exit on the Grand Central Parkway, we crossed the invisible divide that separates strangers. When we finally arrived at my home, he stepped from the car and introduced himself to my children. After he left, they asked who he was.

“A friend,” I answered.

Read all recent entries and our updated submissions guidelines. Reach us via email diary@nytimes.com or follow @NYTMetro on Twitter using the hashtag #MetDiary.



Snow Rhino, Fort Greene

Stay. Good rhino.Ben Dolnick Stay. Good rhino.

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