misunderestimation

Lately MySpace and other social networking sites have been taking it on the chin. Now, one positive example of the power of MySpace can be found:

Lissette Feliciano says she used MySpace to help identify a group of girls that beat her daughter in a park this week, taking her cell phone and wallet in the process. Bryanna Feliciano, a 14-year-old from Manchester, New Hampshire, says she was walking by a busy park in the area when nine girls attacked her, kicking her in the back and punching her in the face.

This heads-up mother decided to use MySpace to find her daughter’s attackers:

“As soon as we plugged it in one girl, all the girls showed up as best friends,” Feliciano said. “They had pictures of themselves — everything. They put it right out there.”

The woman printed out the photos and names of the girls and contacted the police.

I can’t decide if this is an example of a quick-thinking mother who used all the tools she could to find the guilty parties or is just another example of how dumb people who commit crimes can be. The only thing dumber would have been to video the entire thing and share it on YouTube.

Either way, take this as a reminder that it’s not the web site that is the problem, it’s the people who use it.

Others blogging:

• Manchester Mom tracks down daughter’s attackers
• Police Using Myspace To Catch Criminals
• Cops catch public urinator through Facebook

More misunderestimation