Category Archives: Community Engagement

“To Alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems.” – Homer Simpson If Homer Simpson were in London this week, he might be using that refrain for social media instead of alcohol. As riots broke out across the UK, beginning in Tottenham following the protest around the shooting of Mark Duggan by the Met police, the use of social media has been at the forefront of dissecting the organising potential of different communities. As the riots broke, rumours were rampant that the skirmishes had been organised through social media, particularly on Twitter and Facebook. As the days progressed, Blackberry Messenger was pegged as the main organising force for rioters, while Twitter was identified as inciting the violence with shared images and details that may have caused others to take to the streets. Regardless of the tools used, there is little doubt that social sharing through technology allowed those taking part in the riots to coordinate and communicate with one another.