You have just witnessed one of the biggest social media events in history, and living proof of the power of "word of mouth," emerging technologies, and social media.
You have also not heard the entire story. There is a dark side to what was happening on social media that could have risked the lives of many in law enforcement.
How did it happen?
It happened because we are all citizen journalists, with powerful computers in our pockets and purses. The smartphone just helped authorities capture the most wanted man in America.
The dark side happened because some people are so wrapped up in social media that they don't "think."
What started as a bombing and an act of terrorism suddenly because a partnership between authorities and everyone who carries a smartphone.
The FBI created one of law enforcement's highest-profile effort s at crowdsourcing: asking for help identifying two suspects linked to the Boston Marathon bombings.
Then thousands of hours of video and thousands of digital pictures started to come in from smartphones and security cameras --- including what authorities believed were suspects in the Boston bombings.
But within hours the tips and leads come in, and much more. The pictures, and with each hour, we see the faces more clearly.
And that's when even more tips come in as we learn the names of the suspects.
By now, Twitter and Facebook are buzzing with updates and crowdsourcing. That's the good news.
Suddenly, overnight, Thursday to Friday, the suspects make a move and police move into Watertown, MA.
The bad news is that some people are listening to police scanners and posting almost every word and every move police are making.
It became so bad that CBS News finally sent out this tweet: "UPDATE: Boston Police are asking social media users not to post information they hear on police frequencies/scanner channels."
Real journalists know you do not report what you are hearing on police scanners, but we now live in a era of "social" --- civic journalists don't know that.
In one of the strangest weeks ever, we see one suspect dead after a shootout and another drive right through a police line.
As the massive manhunt continues, Twitter is flooded with activity--some of the tweets are accurate, many are not. But it is a social media platform play-by-play of the search for a terrorism suspect---something we never seen in this country on this scale before.
There will be many lessons to learn. There will be stories about what was done right and wrong. Most important: We came together as a country and used emerging media platforms to help identify suspects quickly and share the news (right or wrong).
We will learn from our mistakes as social media continues to grow.
(c) Joseph Barnes, Digital3000.netThis story may be shared freely with attribution.
See ABC News social media wrap-up here:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/social-medias-role-capture-boston-bombing-suspects-19005936
