‘ED card’
When a Beaconite arrived at an American Airlines counter in the United States on Friday morning to check in for his return flight to Tortola, he received a surprise. The attendant told him he could not check in until he filled completed an online authorisation to enter the Virgin Islands. That’s when he remembered the government’s plan to launch its new “Online Embarkation/Disembarkation Card System” (unfortunately known as the “Online ED Card System” for short) at the start of the year. The Beaconite panicked: He had not filled out the authorisation, and he had no idea how to get it done. He asked the attendant if she would let him check in and fill it out later while waiting for his flight. But she refused. And she continued to refuse as he stood there awkwardly fiddling with his phone trying to find the website to register. Fortunately, that’s when the attendant’s supervisor showed up. After a quick review of the situation, the supervisor let the Beaconite proceed with check-in, and she provided the website where she said he should go to fill out the online authorisation later. After checking in, he did so. The process was not difficult, though when he was asked to upload a photo of his passport, he had serious concerns about how the Immigration and Customs departments would be protecting his data (especially considering the recent breach at the BVI Electricity Corporation). When he arrived at the Beef Island airport, however, he was one of only a handful of passengers who had filled out the online form. The great majority had simply filled out the old paper-based forms and seemed to have no idea that a new regime was in place. The immigration and customs officers were prepared, though: They accepted the QR codes the Beaconite had received from the online process, and they didn’t require him to fill out the paper form. The Beaconite later learned that he wasn’t alone in experiencing troubles with the new system. A frequent visitor told him about almost missing his flight to the VI because of similar situation at a check-in gate. And on social media, other complaints came from people who were confused by the form they had to complete to enter the territory by ferry. Given that the new online system will allow paper cards to be phased out, the Beaconite believes it could be very beneficial. But there are clearly kinks that need to be ironed out. As the government moves forward with its plan to provide more online services, he hopes leaders will get in the habit of testing them more thoroughly before launching them.
HOA ads
While a Beaconite was watching the recording of a recent House of Assembly sitting on the government’s YouTube page, she noticed she had to skip through multiple advertisements. She was glad that the ads do not randomly pop up when she is simply watching the recordings. However, when she pauses and then starts the videos again, sponsored content often appears before she can get back to the sittings. The ads appear, she believes, because the settings on the HOA’s YouTube page are set to allow for them to play on its videos. Skipping through the ads made the reporter wonder if any money is being made through this kind of ad revenue. And if so, where is this money going? She would be curious to know if others who watch the HOA sittings come across this sponsored content as well. And how often do they have to skip them? A casual viewer may not see the ads as often as the reporter since they are likely not pausing and returning to the videos as much as she does. But in any case, she wonders if the HOA should simply turn them off.
