35000 threat tweets a day

1

November

2013

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Yesterday I read a news article about the number of threating tweets increasing. Daily, approximately 35000 threat tweets are send out, and 200 of them are so serious that the police has to come in action, which leads to a daily arrest. The police has been very busy with monitoring the Internet traffic, as 40 police agents work on this matter day and night. It is said it a social problem.

Social media makes it a lot easier for people to send out threats. Whereas before, they needed to have paper, write the letter, buy an envelop and then put it on the mail, now Twitter makes their lives much easier by enabling them to type a few words, click on send and done.

But really, how many of those so-called threat tweets are actually serious? It was said that the tweeters were usually teenagers, who have a hard time controlling their emotions. I am definitely glad that there are police agents who takes these things seriously, but I wonder if it is not just “blown up” most of the time. If a threat was serious, then why tweet it beforehand for the whole world to see, knowing you will get caught very soon, hence, what is the point of the threat tweet (it is not anonymous).

Overall, the police are doing a good job when it comes to monitoring tweets, but do you think there some ways to prevent this whole matter? You cannot actually stop someone from sending a (threat) tweet, but there must be some way to decrease this problem, especially if you see that 200 tweets per day are considered to be serious threats… any opinions? 🙂

source: http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2013/10/31/tweehonderd-serieuze-dreigtweets-per-dag/

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Online Social Networks – Homework Assignment

3

October

2013

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Most of you are asleep right now (5:00am) but I am writing a blog :). Luckily my inspiration (only) works at night! 

 As you have read the title the topic is: “online social networks”, I went with Facebook and LinkedIn and for the comparison I applied the five forces model. For those who do not know what this is: perhaps you can Google it 🙂 !

Other than the bargaining power of suppliers and rivalry among firms is considered medium-high for Facebook, due to Google + being an alternative and current competitor, all the other forces were quite low. Although, I found that the power of suppliers was then relatively low for LinkedIn, as users don’t really have better alternatives. Also, switching costs are high, as users cannot transfer data/connections. Nevertheless, I think that Facebook and LinkedIn are both profitable and are likely to remain so in the near future.

In conclusion, I feel like Facebook has already reached its maturity stage (if not decline) – weakness, whereas LinkedIn has still many options to expand and increase its user base – strength. Hence, I believe LinkedIn has more opportunities and fewer threats than Facebook at the moment. Questions/comments are welcome! 

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Confessions on social media.

9

September

2013

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“I killed a man” is what Matthew Cordle (22) said in a recent YouTube video. He confessed driving drunk and killing a man on June 22, 2013. The video was published by a non-profit organization “because I said I would” five days ago, and has reached over 1 million views already.

Why are so many people confessing crimes through social media nowadays? Yes, the message reaches everyone, and through that way culprits can be caught easier too, but why confess a crime on the Internet?

In my opinion there are two ways or possible reasons why people decide to confess their crimes through social media. First, to express their regret and maybe explain the world why they committed such crime or to bring a message forward. Second, to brag about it? I know that sounds awful, and I do not understand why someone would do that, so I am still not quite sure about that second reason. Though, I wonder why anyone would post a gruesome picture of a dead body on Facebook for everyone to see it, and even share it…

Going back to the first reason. Matthew Cordle asked “because I said I would” for help, “a social movement dedicating to bettering humanity through the power of a promise”. He expressed his regret and promised he would take full responsibility of what he did. In addition, he sent out a message by begging viewers not be the same as him, and not drink and drive.

Personally, I found this video very meaningful. It is in no way saying his actions are ok, despite the fact he says he regrets it or promises to take responsibility. However, I find the message meaningful, because even though Matthew knew he had made a mistake, he still tries to tell people not to make the same mistake as him and he/because i said i would does that through an effective way: social media. There is nothing he can change anymore, but at least he tries to make a difference.

For that reason, I think it is okay to confess through the use of social media, to send out a meaningful message. Yet, there are so many other confessions on social media, and for whatever reason that is, I don’t always understand. For example, last month, a man confessed murdering his wife and then posted a horrible picture of her body for the whole world to see, it was shared rapidly afterwards.

What are your thoughts about confessing crimes on social media? Do you understand why people would share such terrible crimes on the Internet? What about Matthew Cordle, was this video a good idea? It could be seen controversial though, as “because I said I would” responded to comments saying it was not praising Matthew Cordle as a “hero” for his decision to confess. Last of all, how is the confession to the killed man’s family? Feel free to leave a comment, I am very interested in what you think!
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sources: http://www.businessinsider.com/because-i-said-i-would-video-shows-man-confessing-to-a-killing-2013-9
p.s. : if you have some spare time left, check out “because i said i would“. I find it a great initiative as it helps people make, fulfill and share their promises online 🙂

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Facebook Murder

7

September

2013

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Imagine someone would tell a 14-year old boy this: “I will you pay 100 euros, and buy you drinks if you go to this girl’s house and murder her.” Sounds pretty horrible to me, and who would do that? Tragic thing is, that is what the boy did. I am sure the Dutch people among us have heard of the so-called “Facebook murder”. It happened last year, January 2012, and it literally shocked The Netherlands and raised many discussions about the role of social media.

To briefly summarize this shocking news [or see the link below]: it started with a fight/quarrel on Facebook between two best (girl) friends.  It was said the girl (15), who was killed, revealed unpleasant details about her best friend’s private life on Facebook. In response to that, a furious “friend” (15) complained to her boyfriend (17) who then contacted the 14-year-old boy. The couple decided to set up a plan and pay the boy if he murders the schoolgirl. She got stabbed on her own doorstep and shortly after that her father, who came outside to rescue his daughter, got stabbed too. He, fortunately, survived the incident, however, his daughter passed away a few days later.

So why did the media decided to call this the “Facebook murder”? Well, simply said because the whole fight started on Facebook? I assume that was the reason why they called it that. Many people started to wonder about what role social media played in this incident and what the dangers of social media are?

Personally, I do not think we can blame Facebook for this and say it is too dangerous to use now. If this happened over the traditional phone, would we then blame the phone and stop using it? No. So, it does not really make sense, but I understand as a journalist you have to name it something, right? However, I do agree that Facebook played a part in this and maybe, just maybe, it would have gone different without social media.

The girl’s father said that though the world of social media is growing, the dangers of it are growing too and that it is coming too fast for children, as they are still too young. He hopes this incident will open up some people’s eyes.  I have to say I agree with him, because I think many people, including parents, are not aware of the dangers of social media and what damage it can actually lead to. Questions were raised such as: why didn’t anyone notice the fight, what about the parents? Or why didn’t or couldn’t anyone prevent it from letting it come that far?

Social media nowadays has so many advantages, but this incident is clearly an example of what children can do with social media besides connecting with friends. It is so simple nowadays; social media makes it a lot easier for teenagers to send out messages, not always for the good. It happens so fast and they don’t have to see each other’s face. There is no one who keeps an eye on what exactly they are doing. Small things can escalate very quickly through the use of Internet.

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I think we, especially parents, should be more aware of the dangers of social media, with regard to young children. Be more aware of what they are doing and what they publish. This “Facebook Murder” is just one example out of many other incidents that were caused through the use of social media.

I am interested in your opinions though. Does it make sense for media to call this case “Facebook murder”? Do you think it would have made a difference if there were no social media involved? If you have any thoughts, feel free to leave a comment! We say social media is the future, but so are our children…
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Sources: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19472747

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