Facebook Used in Both a Hostage Situation and an Unexpectedly Large Birthday Party
I’m not disturbed or troubled enough to take anyone hostage – at least not at this point in my life. If I was though, I don’t think I would go on Facebook and provide updates or comments to people about the situation. This is what happened in Pittsburgh over the weekend, as Facebook comments on 22 year old Klein Michael Thaxton’s Facebook page might have helped end the situation (via Digital Trends).
Thaxton went into an office building and Pittsburgh, USA, and took a 58 old year old CEO of CW Breitsman Associates, Charles Breitsman, hostage for reasons yet unknown. Police started to gather outside of the building and Thaxton did what most 22 year olds do in pretty much any situation – he updated his Facebook page. At first he said “this life im livin rite now i dnt want anymore. ive lost everything and I aint gettin it back.”
This was then followed by ““welln pops youll never have to woryy about me again you’ll nevr need to by me anything no need to ever waste ur hard earned money on me. i’ll live n jail you dnt want me around anymore thats kool bye…i love u assata sis.”
Friends and family began posting on Thaxton’s Facebook page, encouraging him to turn himself in. Police kept the Facebook page open initially, as it was distracting him from harming the hostage. Angry Birds will do that. However, some friends encouraged Thaxton to continue the stand off, which made police cut off access to his Facebook page. These people could be charged as accessories to the crime. Recall the person during the 2011 London Riots who made a Facebook Event inviting people to riot at a certain area, and was given 4 years in jail, even though they didn’t participate in the event itself.
Things ended okay, as Thaxton’s mother in conjunction with police negotiators convinced Thaxton to release Breitsman and turn himself in. Hooray for Facebook?
Party Time in the Netherlands
It has happened again. A Facebook event invite meant for a few people was accidentally made public, and the public latched onto it to make it an unforgettable event. This time, it happened to a 16 year old in the Netherlands (via Digital Trends).
16 year old Merthe Weusthuis from the small Dutch town of Haren had her Facebook event invite go viral, reaching about 30,000 people. Websites latched onto the fun, making a Twitter account and YouTube video of it (see below). So this is the best way to make PeteHatesMusic go viral then?
The town of 18,000 people was hit with 3,000 party attenders, as Merthe fled town beforehand. But it’s your party, what are you doing?! I hope people got gift receipts.
Police were in full force, and even got hit with rocks and bottles. Stores got vandalized and a car was set on fire. This sounds like the G20 summit in Toronto. If Merthe were wise, she would stay out of town – forever. Um, happy birthday?
