Matthew Dimmick

 

You do not have to look deep into today’s headlines to find civil unrest, violent protests and mob-like behavior adversely affecting business and government operations and processes. Whether it is the current unrest in Great Britain or the continuing "Arab Spring," there has not been a day in many months that we have not been bombarded with images of violent uprisings and coordinated mob mentality.

Such civil disturbances have been driven utilizing social media outlets including Twitter and Facebook as well as Blackberry Messenger for operational control. More and more cities around the world, including New York City, are dedicating specialized police units to comb through feeds on social networks to identify potential targets of flash mobs. "Flash mobs" are the latest evolution of the "Wolf Packs" and "Wilding" of years past. A simple search on YouTube will reveal the rapid expansion of this behavior. Technology has improved many aspects of our everyday lives although with all the positives there are also some negatives. The operational control and communications capabilities that current mobile technology provides to "flash mobs" and rioters rivals that of the authorities charged with mitigating these issues.

For more on this topic, please view our report: Protecting Organizational Assets in Civil Disturbances Fueled by Social Media

 

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