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This article is a great example of why I tend to not like Wired commentary on technology and its social impact. > Why Has BlackBerry Been Blamed for the Lond
by shrikant 15y ago
This article is a great example of why I tend to not like Wired commentary on technology and its social impact.
> Why Has BlackBerry Been Blamed for the London Riots?
Link-bait/troll headline? Check. [AFAICS nobody is "blaming" BlackBerry/RIM. All media outlets are merely reporting that BBM has been widely used to plan some of these riots.]
> BlackBerry has been under pressure to respond.
Unfounded claims? Check. [Have they been "under pressure"? Not really, they've stepped up voluntarily to assist the authorities.]
> Widespread calls to block BBM [...]
Hyperbolic extrapolation from useless data point? Check. [The link in the article within that text leads to a website with a single user-submitted post, with 2 (two!) comments - hardly widespread.]
- mattmanser 15y agoMandatory point out that story authors rarely write their headlines. And with that done. What was vaguely puzzling me were the references to blackberries in many stories, this article actually explains it. So the title actually does what it says on the tin even if it is a bit over-egged. I didn't realise that BBMs are free, can be sent to all contacts and encrypted. I did already kind of know blackberries were popular with teenagers. Add those three facts together and it's suddenly obvious why blackberries keep getting mentioned.