The Pitfalls Of Social Networking - NHL Trade Deadline

On February 28, 2011, the NHL trade deadline was reaching a frenzy conclusion at 3:00pm EST.  Traditional methods to receive updates were TV & radio until now.  Microblogging has taken on a more prominent role in reporting real time events as recently witnessed in Egypt and Libya.  Twitter is a well known microblogging site that allows users to post by topic or type for anyone to follow.  Despite some of the criticism that tweets are similar to shouts into the darkness hoping someone is listening, popular media has starting using Twitter and given the site more credibility.  Privacy and security still remain hot topics with Twitter accounts in addition to fake accounts.  Clever users managed to convey themselves as popular media sources and tweet falsified trade rumours as fact.  More surprising is how quickly the false information was taken to be true.  In another twist to twitter, a mob decided to tweet blast the Toronto Maple Leafs twitter account for Joffery Lupul and wish him well with the New York Islanders.  It is believed that the massive number of tweets Lupul received made him believe he was indeed traded and even posted his own reaction to being traded.  The Lupul tweet blast was cruel and calculating but exemplifies how more people should be aware of the pitfalls of social networking.