This year we’ve seen how social networking can stir up change. Facebook and Twitter were key players in the Arab Spring. No they weren’t the only players but they helped ignite passions, spread news and take down dictators. After witnessing the positive power of the Internet, I was convinced that a shift in communication meant a shift in mankind. Then came London.
The London Riots made headlines all over the world. Without trying to take any political sides on the subject, they in fact turned messy to say the least. Burning cars, eruptions of violence all over the city, no sense of order, destroyed stores and lots of looting was a common scene. Blame it on BlackBerry. Point fingers at social media. Both played their parts in enabling the events. BBM spread the word amongst rioters and then social media stepped in to stir up anger and grow the mob. Since digital snapshots are quite widespread these days, a lot of the criminal scenes were caught on camera.
In efforts to find the looters, a simple site that clearly took no time to build was created. Much like crime stoppers, this site allows you to anonymously identify the people in the shots. You can also participate by uploading your own pictures. It’s true that facial recognition software could have been used, but there’s something to be said about the simplicity of the experience. The images that have been shared are so raw and real, they really bring the riots to life. It’s a funny turn in events; the technology that enabled the violence is now being used to find the people who are responsible. Bet the rioters didn’t think of that!
So far many of London’s looters have been identified. A mother even turned in her son. So you tell me, is this shift in communication a good thing or a bad thing? One thing that’s certain, communication has shifted and we’re putting it to the test.
Check out the site at: http://londonrioters.co.uk/identify/
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