Some of the delinquents responsible for looting and torching parts of London have relied on social media to mobilize their misdeeds. Others are just using instant messages to brag about injuring police officers.
This isn’t the first time Twitter has been used for crime. Kids in Philadelphia have been the popular texting tool to coordinate violent mobs that attack random people.
But social media can be used for construction just as easily as for destruction.
British citizens, outraged by the looting and ashamed of the chaos, organized a clean-up session using Facebook and Twitter. The streets were filled with peaceful protesters, demonstrating against the rioters.
The clean-up initiative follows on the heels of another populist movement being coordinated online – Operation Cup of Tea. The idea is to take a stand against the riots by quietly enjoying a spot of Tea. Over 200,000 people got involved.
So here we see the real power of social media. Twitter, Facebook, and the like – they are all bringing us together and helping us to see how much in common we all have. Perhaps more importantly, the Internet shows us just how many people feel the same way we do.
Now imagine what will be possible when, instead of only hundreds of thousands of united people, there’s hundreds of millions, all acting simultaneously to effect positive change on the world.
With that kind of power, incredible things will be entirely possible! Even building a lasting peace on earth.
