Posts tagged Twitter
News Commentary: Tech Turning Good Things Into Bad
0On Sundays I offer comments on some of the most interesting information technology stories that I have found on the web that week. Please feel free to join in the discussion or suggest stories during the week.
This week’s story is from Mashable.com and it reports how the latest darling of the Information Age, Twitter.com, is being turned for questionable purposes. I have written about Twitter before and how I think that it is the most disruptive technology of the past decade. That is disruptive in a positive manner, by the way.
Like all new communications channels, though, it has the power to promote good outcomes and bad. Today’s story simply shines the light on the evil side. Check it out here:
Mashable.com – Drunk Drivers Evade the Cops With Twitter
“We reported last week that inebriated drivers in Texas are to be outed on Twitter, and now cops report that the culprits themselves are using the microblogging site to inform others of the location of sobriety checkpoints.”
To be sure, I am not suggesting that Twitter has any culpability at all in this case. They are simply the conduit – no different from the phone, cell, or email – that is being used to convey the information, but they certainly have enabled the process here. I believe that it is a very slippery slope to even consider a means to censor tweets in an effort to curb this kind of practice. On the other hand, I think that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few here. The individual who believes that they are “in the right” to inform the world where sobriety check points or speed traps are is not serving the greater good at all. Just as this article points out, sobriety check points are proven to lower the incidence of drunk driving in communities that use them. Exactly how does twittering their location aide in the battle against death due to intoxication?
In the Information Age, as broadcast, mobile communications, and knowledge management become ubiquitous capabilities of every human, we all need to upgrade our ethics as well. Here is a wonderful case study to begin that debate.
What do you think about this topic? Do you agree or disagree with me? Do you have a recommended news story for next week? Please share your ideas below.
That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for January 3, 2010 by Scott Coughlin.
Image Credit: Tim’s Blog
News Commentary: The Lunacy of Follower Counting
0SPOILER ALERT! I am going to ruin the surprise! When it is all said and done, President Obama is going to have had a more substantial effect on our world than Lady Gaga. OK, now that being said, we can discuss our IT Thought of the Day News Commentary of the Week.
On Mondays I offer comments on some of the most interesting information technology stories that I have found on the web that week. Please feel free to join in the discussion or suggest other stories.
Today’s comments were generated after I read a CNN story. It is all about “race” between Lady Gaga and President Obama to get to 10 million Facebook followers. I recommend it to you. Give it a read below.
CNN.com – Obama, Lady Gaga compete for Facebook fan record
I am just going to go ahead and say it. WHO CARES! I cannot believe that so many people go through life trying to relive their High School Class President election. That is exactly what this manic obsession with Twitter and Facebook followers represents. Can you image if Ghandi, Albert Einstein, or Mother Teresa had spent even a millisecond worrying about what others thought of them – let alone who had more people willing to “follow”” them on these social media services?
OK, that is what I think of this topic. What do you think about this topic? Do you agree or disagree with me? Do you have a recommended news story for next week? Please share your ideas below.
That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for June 28, 2010 by Scott Coughlin.