Riots Boost Awareness of Public Safety Apps

Even after the funeral last week of Mark Duggan, the man whose killing by police officers sparked the August riots in London and other UK cities, questions remain about the role technology played in the mayhem -- and what role it will play in public safety. Much was made particularly of the role of social networks and Blackberry Messenger (BBM) in encouraging the disorder and looting.

There were calls from politicians for social networks to be controlled or closed in times of trouble. The government even had highly publicized meetings with representatives from Facebook and other companies. As the noise died away, however, it appeared that the use of technology was not as one-sided, or as significant, as many had made it seem. Yes, social networks were widely used by rioters and looters, but the networks were also widely used to organize protection or defense of property, to send warnings to others, and to expose rioters and looters...