Social Media for Good & Evil
It was the widespread availability of social media – namely Facebook & Twitter – which enabled the coordination of the recent London riots. It was also the Blackberry which made it difficult for Police to uncover the crimes as the Blackberry’s instant messaging is not easily encrypted. The majority of British youth prefer the Blackberry as a smartphone because it’s cheaper and offers free private internet/3G communications.
Now in the wake of the riots in London and several other English cities, British Prime Minister David Cameron, has asked for a review of this “free flow of information” in order to avoid the abuse of social media for evil. A meeting with the British Government and representatives of Facebook & Twitter is planned to be held over the coming weeks.
Of course most of us are advocates for free speech so may be dubious about social media being censored, but it’s also human nature to care for our safety and security, so I welcome the review.
On the flip side, social media also made it possible to coordinate a cleaning army to hit the streets in full force. The larger community gathered with a positive spirit to clean up the mess left behind after the 4 nights of rioting. Good wins over Evil!!!!
Your in Social Media,
Amber van Sloten
