At SMI Aware we do things a little differently. We could scrape social media sites and provide uncurated results like our counterparts do. We could present you with a report that may or may not have the accurate data. We could provide a tool for attorneys and paralegals to do the research themselves and waste valuable time you could be spending building your case. Instead, our analysts get you the exact evidence you need when you need it. Here are five more reasons why having an in-house analyst team is important.
Our analysts are certified.
Our full-time team of experts are college-educated in intelligence studies and board-certified in social media intelligence (CSMIE). You can trust the information they collect in your reports and they’ll always uphold our strict code of ethics to deliver unbiased results.
Authentication of Evidence is Key for Admissibility.
Courts are imposing high standards for the authentication of social media and online evidence. To establish ownership, our experts verify a minimum of three pieces of personally identifying information (PII’s). This could be a picture, a date of birth and a phone number, but these pieces of information will vary by social media platform. The analyst team is able to assess what exactly is needed based on your scope to accurately identify the subject, verify account ownership, and authenticate evidence.
Consistency is kept top-of-mind.
When conducting social media and web analysis, it’s important to do so consistently. Conducting these analytical searches on your own can open the door to legal and ethical issues, because it’s nearly impossible to maintain consistency in your searches. Our experts conduct consistent, complete, and compliant searches utilizing SMI Aware’s proprietary technology and process to create our intelligence reports.
Nuances and nomenclature are relevant.
Because our analysts are all based in the United States, and because they personally view the social media posts of the subject, they are able to correctly interpret the tone and understand lingo, as well as many cultural nuances. Scraping tools used by our counterparts cannot pick up on small, yet important, details that this analysis may reveal.
We can provide additional support.
As a third-party provider, we maintain the digital chain of custody, providing testimony in support of the evidence they collect for your case.
There are a number of risks associated with doing this work yourself, even if the process seems “easy enough.” It’s possible to get in a situation that’s not legally sound, even without realizing it; expert analysts are key to maintaining your ethical standards.
