No one loves the messenger who brings bad news
As an Englishman (understandably, the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish don't want to be associated with us on this one) I was mesmerized by London burning last week and managed to experience it vicariously on social networks - where some of my acquaintances were, literally, having a riot, albeit in Birmingham.
The reaction on China's Sina Weibo microblogging service to the scenes of anarchy was interesting because there appeared to be a consensus that Twitter and Facebook were to blame - the subtext being it was a wise move by the government to ban the social networking sites here.
The notion that micro blogs are a force for evil appears to be gaining ground among governments around the world. Champions of a free press, of which Twitter et al are surely a part, are on the defensive. The UK government and police already have the power to shut down communication providers, so Prime Minister David Cameron did not say much when he threatened to shut down Twitter and BlackBerry Messenger Service if they were used to organize violence.
