Previously, we looked at the role of social media and in specific Twitter on the Arab Spring. Many publications now state that Twitter & Blackberry were pivotal in the recent London Riots. Mark Schone, of ABCNews writes in his article London Riots: Blame Twitter — or BlackBerry Messenger? that the British Police have threatened to arrest anyone who encourages riots on Twitter.
However, the article proceeds to talk about how it is not Twitter nor Facebook; BBM (Black Berry Messager) was actually crucial in both London and the Arab Spring in gathering members. BBM makes it easy to re-send messages and is commonly used among teenagers.
Just before Duggan died Thursday, he sent a final message to his girlfriend via BlackBerry Messenger, “The Feds are following me.”
So, while Twitter has been in the eyes of the public as the organizational platform of ‘revolutionary acts’, BBM has been the private messaging system and communication platform at the P2P level.
London Twitter Riots: A Crazy Example. Source: Twitter
Blackberries, unlike other cellphones are virtually invisible to the police because of their unique BBM network. In fact, according to the article, Blackberry has been specifically trying to market their product to teenagers using top hip-hop artists as their sponsors.
“Sending out BBM broadcasts about linking ukp at 4 pm to cause more havoc,” writes one tweeter. Another says, “:o jd sports Tottenham hale just got robbed go on bbm to see da pics!” Another writes, “People had in their bbm status ‘Going Tottenham riot, who’s on it” like it was a casual street party. A fourth said, “According to my bbm, now something’s starting in wood green.”
BBM has been instrumental in information spread about all events about the riot among youth. In fact, Twitter and Facebook served to work with BBM by spreading the pins of individuals who had the information. The nice thing about BBM is unlike Facebook or Twitter, it is virtually impossible to trace the source (or the terrible thing about it).
RIM, Blackberry’s manufacturer, refused to comment to ABC News. This article contains a prevailing theme of technology’s role in our society. BBM, an ICT, which we haven’t took into much study because of it’s lack of relevance in the USA, actually contains a large market share outside of the States.
Interesting evaluation on the use of different technology in revolutions and riots. Good use of screenshots and quotes! I was absolutely shocked to read those tweets about a girl who stabbed a police officer. You mentioned that the Blackberry BBM network makes it invisible to police, I am curious what it is about the BBM network that makes this so. And why is the BBM not relevant in the USA? Also, do you know why/if police can see Facebook posts (if they are private).