Technology is being used in the most unexpected of ways, by the most unexpected people. Street gangs in New York are making use of Twitter to communicate with each other and to plan up-coming fights.
What is more, the police who have to track down these criminals are not far behind. They too are making use of the same medium to communicate.
Only last week, the NY Daily News reported that a young boy who was shot in the leg was probably the target of a battle originated on Twitter by a gang called Original Young Gangsters.
Gangs exchanging threats on Twitter
Not only are gangsters planning their strategy on Twitter, they are also using the medium to bait their rivals by sending out challenging messages on Twitter.
The police, on the other hand, are using Twitter not only to communicate with each other but also to locate clues about these gangs and to try and prevent crimes before they occur.
New generation gangsters are very tech-savvy, just like any other youngsters, and like to make use of the latest technology available. They are well aware of the fact that their communications over Twitter can be seen by anybody, but that does not seem to deter most of them. On the contrary it seems to excite them more! While some protect their tweets a number of others keep their Twitter profiles open for the world (and the police) to read.
