Contemporary issues in ICT

Contemporary issues in ICT

Blackberries and their involvement in the London riots

A number of politicians, media commentators and members of the police force suggested that BlackBerry Messenger, had a role to play in the London riots. RIM’s BlackBerry smartphones are very popular among inner city youths on both sides of the Atlantic. The devices themselves are typically cheaper than Android models and the iPhone, particularly on pay-as-you-go packages. But it is software that central to BlackBerrys’ success in this market. BBM is an instant messaging application, allowing users to communicate in a similar way to text messaging, but effectively for free, as traffic is exchanged via the internet. According to analysts it is replacing text messaging among young people. Each user has a unique PIN that allows other BBM users to contact them. BBM PINs are typically shared more readily than phone numbers, which means news can spread through the network more quickly than via text messages.  By using these free and easily used ways of communications they created groups and sent “broadcasts” to their contacts to organize riot destinations and times.