You’d be surprised how much good and bad can come from messages that are 140 characters or less.
Over the last couple of years, there’s been plenty of relationships, careers and friendships ended over some pesky Twitter messages. But it’s the personal tragedies and triumphs that’s caught the Daily Dot’s attention.
Here’s a look at how Twitter has been used to help and harm others in the last three years.
GOOD: Missing sister of Atlanta voice actress is found with the help of Twitter.
After more than a week with no leads from police on her missing sister, Amy Elk took to Twitter on July 16 to air her frustration and rally the troops. “Search party is ON!!” tweeted Elk,a voice actress. “Social media FTW! Let’s go find her!!!” Within a few hours, Elk and another search party member found the body of her sister Nique Leili in a wooded area near her home in Gwinnett County, Ga. “Still waiting for a positive ID but based on the identifying features the ME (medical examiner) gave us it’s definitely her,” Elk tweeted. “My sister is gone.”
BAD: Nursing student gunned down in Harlem after Twitter spat.
Kwame Dancy, 22, was walking on the street near his Harlem home on Dec. 1, 2009, when a man he was feuding with on Twitter shot him in the neck with a shotgun, said The Daily News. According to Dancy’s Twitter feed, he and 22-year-old Jameg Blake had exchanged insults on the micro-blogging site. “ “N____s is lookin for u don’t think I won’t give up ya address for a price betta chill asap!” tweeted Dancy shortly before the shooting. Dancy was training at the Visiting Nurse Service of New York. Following the incident, police subpoenaed the tweets to help build their case.
GOOD: South African woman who asked people on Twitter for advice on how to commit suicide instead receives help.
Late Friday night, a distraught South African mother took to Twitter to pay her final respects to her family and loved ones. “Please don’t save me, I just didn’t want to die alone,” tweeted the woman, according to an article on memeburn. Moments after the messages were sent out, people on Twitter mobilized to try and find the woman. One of these people was editor Nic Dawes of Mail & Guardian, an online news organization in Africa. “Can someone who knows (the woman) please go to her now, or mobilize her friends,” tweeted Dawes. A hashtag was created, the woman’s phone numbers were tweeted and search parties were organized to help save her. By Saturday morning, she was found. “(the woman) is with her parents,” tweeted Louise van der Bijl. “She is safe. Her father confirmed this.”
BAD: Arizona man tweets while away on vacation and returns to find his home burglarized
While on vacation to Kansas City with his wife, Israel Hyman tweeted about his travels to his more than 2,000 followers. “We made it to Kansas City in one piece,” tweeted Hyman on May 24, 2009. “We’re visiting @noellhyman’s family. Can’t wait to get some good video while we’re here.” Sometime after the tweet was sent, Hyman’s father visited his son’s home in Meza, Ariz., and found it broken into, reported WPXI in Pittsburgh. An Apple computer, two computer displays and a printer were also missing. In an Associated Press video, Hyman addressed the break-in and his Twitter habits. “It’s not something that I want to stop doing,” Hyman said. “Probably in the future, though, I won’t be announcing when I’m heading out of town.”
GOOD: California student tweets “Arrested” while being dragged away to Egyptian jail and gets saved.
In April 2008, University of California-Berkley student James Karl was arrested in Egypt while covering an anti-government protest. Having just learned how to use Twitter about a week before his arrest, Karl tweeted “Arrested” while he was being taken to a police station, reported CNN. The tweet reached Karl’s friends and family who contacted the university, U.S. embassy in Egypt and the press, reported TechCrunch.
