The Power of Instant Messaging Tools and Social Network on Mobile Platforms in the London riots
Marshall McLuhan once proclaimed that "the medium is the message", in which he explained the medium itself shapes how the message was sent and received.

 To a certain extent, the lengthened arms of social technology pretty much represent the very sentiment of his theory and principle on how we consume the media and the news that were spread around.

When the London riots that happened over the last few days, Instant Messaging (IM) tools has once again been put into the spotlight when it was found out that rioters often kept in touch with each other via the ubiquitous Blackberry Messenger (BBM). Once touted as the “dying” platform a few months ago by the technology media due to its rigid software and its clumsy corporation management, the recent spread of riots that occurred in various places in the United Kingdom starting from Tottenham, rioters allegedly used BBM as the communication tool to provide information on where to gather and when to disperse, leaving the police with little time to track them down and difficult to trace their messages as the BBM has very heavy security features such as encrypted messages that keeps their message private and difficult to trace their locations.

Mobile IMs have always been a popular messaging tool, especially cross platform IMs that is fast replacing SMS as a way to send text messages across, surpassing various borders. These recent incidents in the UK demonstrate how social movements, especially ones that could be dangerous to society, could not exactly be predicted with the aid of Mobile IMs. To date, no one knew where the rioters will strike next or where they will gather or disperse. The BBM served as their underground group messaging platform that sends only selected messages to other fellow rioters, unlike public social networks like Facebook or Twitter.

However, social networks have also been known to bring people together. Just a few hours after the riots have left parts of United Kingdom vulnerable and on fire, some other residents have organized mass clean-ups as a sign of solidarity and togetherness through Twitter. Volunteers showed up in thousands to participate in cleaning up the city, with no central organizers and a loose pattern. But people showed up with cleaning equipment to contribute their part in the society and assist in this crisis as any way that they can.

This is a recognition of how powerful IMs and social networks have been especially on the mobile platform. It has taken over SMSes and voice calls especially when it comes to mobilizing social movements. On the other hand, smartphones’ security features and the encryption transfer of message has been part of the police’s concern. These mobile IMs has enabled people to gather at a spot, give instructions, or even alerting others of other dangerous elements roaming the street. The police don’t know who are these rioters and are in need of information; eventually the manufacturer of the Blackberry, Research In Motion, had to get in touch with the police to assist them in their investigations.

Even if the BBM is part of the tools for “organized” riots like this, what is there to say that other IMs are also the means to spread hatred, dissatisfaction and anger among the group of its users whom are mostly youths aged 15 – 25? The medium, which is IM or social networks, should not be blamed as the medium that assists the attacks; rather the initiators were the people who used this medium to pass on their message as an invitation to participate in these events. IMs and social media are both forces that can be used for good or bad. To put it simply, a knife can be a useful tool to cut things, but can also be used as a weapon for murder, it depends on the user themselves.

The police were too quick to judge and blame on the easy accessibility of the mobile Internet and instant messaging which, according to them, facilitates and fuels the anger of the rioters that they went on a continuous rampage in different cities. What they fail to realize is that they are looking at a very small minority among the vast of other mobile users who mostly prefers to use it as a way to keep in touch with and multimedia entertainment rather than plotting the next stop for destruction. Riots are neither synchronized actions neither are they predictable. They act just like a flash mob: They gather, create random acts of violence, and then disperse when the authorities attempted a clampdown on them.
No doubt IMs have made communication so much easier and accessible with all the features it presents and it will expand into further heights, users must also recognize the impact it brings to society when being used recklessly. There is a need to recognize the positive impacts of social movements that are organized through these social networks instead of only seeing what destruction it could bring when IMs and social networks are left unguarded. The only thing left was the need of self-regulation so that people do not abuse IM features for negative purposes. IMs are supposed to be used to ensure people remain in touch with one another, and let us keep that primary function alive and not use it for any other means. Otherwise, the message, as told and shaped by the medium, would be skewered.

This is an article provided by Fonwar IM. Fonwar is a mobile social entertainment service provider that offers instant messaging services that allow users to chat on MSN, Yahoo, AIM, ICQ and Facebook, all at the same time and in one single interface. For more information, visit http://www.fonwar.com