Basically, a woman named Ivanna lost her Sidekick in a NYC taxi cab, then recruited her friend Evan to help her get it back. Evan, in turn, created a media uproar of epic proportions about the lost cell phone, which was recovered by a 16-year-old girl named Sasha. Sasha refused to return the phone and even resorted to threatening Evan if he tried to get it back. Eventually, Sasha arrested for theft and the Sidekick was returned to its rightful owner, Ivanna.
So, if your head's done spinning, let's get back to right now. How did Evan manage to garner such an enormous amount of support for the return of his friend's overly priced cell phone? Well, first of all, who doesn't like to root for the good guy against the bad guy? But more than that, Evan was able to use technology to his advantage. Over a course of ten days, he posted many, many updates to his webpage, keeping his followers in the know of his ongoing quest for Ivanna's phone. It was easy for people to get involved with this because they were constantly being updated; They didn't have to wait around for more info till they lost interest. Also, these media outlets are more interactive, so people are allowed to post comments and talk to one another, making them feel that they are all on the same "team."
Truthfully, I don't think what Evan did was very ethical. He got millions of people against this one teenage girl, who clearly did not have the same means to fight back. Now, I'm not saying that I agree with stealing, and personally, I would have returned the phone to Ivanna, however, the cell phone provider was able to transfer all of the information from Ivanna's old phone to her new one, so why push the issue? Sasha was definitely not given a fair fight in this one, and I would almost go as far as to say that Evan took advantage of that.
Oh well -- you win some, you lose some. Better luck with your next stolen phone, Sasha.
What a great illustration of how these "flash mobs" form, which Shirkey describes later in the book. Recovering the phone did require a great investment of time and energy. Where shall we put our energy? In FTF contact or in social networks?
ReplyDeleteMaybe both???
Christine Tracy
Just heard about this story and was searching for more background. Very happy to come upon your post- the first one I've seen critiquing Evan's behavior.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you, I think Evan's actions were entirely unethical and could even be seen as harassment. I think this is a gross display of white privilege and it's saddening that so many people would get behind this cause. If only their energy could be transferred to something more worthwhile...