Comments on: Social Media Detectives – Power Unleashed

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 22:12:45 +0000

I know social media can be distracting, annoying and very intrusive, but it seems to be one of the best vehicles to get a message to a large audience quickly.
With millions of people on these networking sites, I think for emergencies and situations like this, it can help to get the word out or just inform the public of something.
It is sad that the gallery has been accused of faking this for good publicity. However, a lot of companies use interns and employees to blog and comment about their products for pr… So sometimes it is hard to see what is the truth? Almost anyone can get on a site nad post information. Despite the good things that come from social media networks, people should be careful about what they hear or read online just like any other media.

By: Leigh Durst

Leigh Durst — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 23:11:39 +0000

@Matthew – I was in another situation where the social media crowd decided to take matters into their own hands… it was a stalking incident where the police couldn’t do anything because of jurisdiction… it got really ugly. So I would agree with you about inciting vigilantes.
Seems like we should be able to use our networks to collect evidence, build the groundswell and hope for the best. If we can’t recover what is taken – we can bask in the support we receive from those who care.
@beth I’m proud of them too and think they’ve handled it well.
Ultimately, these people are NEW to social media and self-admitted luddites with technology, for the most part. So this also shows how ANYONE can use social media to build stronger relationships and bottom line.
She has customers coming in from several different states who “met” her on Facebook. This is a great case study as well as a testiment to the natural way the owners have of networking with folks online. This is something that is hard to teach to others.

By: Beth Harte

Beth Harte — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:03:18 +0000

Leigh, I think this validates how relationships AND social media can be very important to a business. For example, what if on Facebook other “friends” somehow put pressure or a guilt trip on their “friend” to come clean? A long shot, probably, but just kicking out the idea.
Personally, I’d let the police and media handle this one. People are crazy! But I give your friends credit for starting their own movement towards recovering their property.
Beth Harte
Community Manager, MarketingProfs
@bethharte

By: Matthew T. Grant

Matthew T. Grant — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:37:07 +0000

I would recommend giving any relevant information to the police, rather than outing people or what have you. I think that the potential for vigilantism arising from social media APBs is real and should, all things being equal, be avoided.
However, Clay Shirky has a similar story about a stolen cell phone in “Here Comes Everybody” and the problem was that the police in New York didn’t really care about the theft until the social groundswell had gotten so large, and had received enough press, that it could no longer be ignored.