The frustrated air passenger who was arrested under Terrorism Act after Twitter joke
A man was arrested and held in police cells for seven hours as a suspected terrorist after making a joke on Twitter about blowing his local airport sky high. Paul Chambers, 26, tapped out the comment to amuse friends because his planned trip to Ireland was under threat due to heavy snow at Robin Hood Airport in Doncaster. ‘C**p! Robin Hood Airport is closed,' he tweeted. ‘You've got a week and a bit to get your s*** together, otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!!'. But a week later, police arrived at the finance superviser's office to arrest him under the Terrorism Act – after an apparent anonymous tip-off.
The man who was saved from Paralysis thanks to Twitter diagnosis
A businessman saved himself from permanent paralysis after getting his rare medical condition diagnosed – on Twitter. Website designer Patrick Johnson, 26, woke up to discover that half his face had gone numb and was drooping. But immediately tweeted his symptoms – and moments later received a message back identifying his condition. Marj Beattie, who runs an online secretarial business in Scotland, correctly diagnosed Bell's palsy. She urged Patrick to get to the hospital quickly and within 40 minutes he was being treated for the condition – saving his face from long term damage. Patrick noticed his face was drooping when he looked in the mirror at his home. He then tweeted to his 347 followers: ”I feel like I've had a stroke. Half of my face doesn't work properly.” Marj then replied: ”If you are truly serious, get to the doc – Bell's palsy facial symptoms mimic a stroke.”
The woman who tweeted she was happily having a miscarriage for 20,000 people
Penelope Trunk, 42, built her career advising others on how to create a professional online identity by telling them what to share and what to leave out. Having had two abortions and a miscarriage, Ms Trunk, professional blogger and CEO of her own company, "Brazen Careerist," was certain she didn't want another child. So when the company boss realised she was losing a baby during a board meeting, she chose to share her relief with 20,000 people on Twitter. She cheerily announced that she was relieved because it would spare her the trouble of going through with a planned abortion. Her message read: 'I'm in a board meeting. Having a miscarriage. Thank goodness, because there's a f*****-up 3-week hoop-jump to have an abortion in Wisconsin.' The 'tweet' was relayed around the world within hours, with angry bloggers calling the divorced mother-of-two callous and uncaring. Miss Trunk said the message caused her to lose about 70 of her 20,000 'followers' on Twitter.
The man who traveled the world for free using only Twitter
Paul Smith is a British blogger, writer and former radio executive. An advocate of social media, Smith coined the phrase "twitchhiking" when he travelled around the world using the social media network Twitter. In February 2009, Smith launch the Twitchhiker Project, an attempt to travel "as far around the world as possible in 30 days, relying only on the goodwill of people using the social media network Twitter." The rules of the project meant Smith could spend no money on transport or accommodation, he only accepted offers of help through Twitter, his travel plans could only be made up to three days in advance and if he was stranded anywhere for longer than 48 hours, Smith had to abandon his journey. After thirty days and with the aid of over 11,000 Twitter followers, Smith had travelled as far as Stewart Island in New Zealand, raising over £5,000 for charity: water.
The Indonesian director who promised he would walk naked through Circle K if he got 3000 followers (and got 40,000)
Indonesian director and screenwriter Joko Anwar became the talk of the online community, as he made good on his promise to walk into a Circle K shop — completely naked. It all started with something he posted on microblogging Web site Twitter. “If I got my 3000th follower today, I'll go into a Circle K naked.” At the time Joko posted the bet, he had a modest 1,800 followers. Buzz grew among Twitter users and Joko gained 3,000 followers in about an hour. And at midnight on the same night, he did just that. Joko asked his friends, who are all on Twitter, to accompany him to a Circle K shop. When asked if he was afraid of getting caught, Joko said there was no one at the store except for the cashier, who “just smiled.”“Circle K” eventually rose to the top of Twitter's so-called trending topic list and eventually gave Joko more than 20,000 followers. Joko directed “Pintu Terlarang” (“The Forbidden Door”), “Kala” (“Time”) and “Janji Joni” (“Joni's Promise”). He now has over 65,000 followers.
The groom who stopped his wedding ceremony to tweet about it at the altar
What is the groom supposed to do after the vows of love and obey? Kiss the bride? Hmmm, not in a geek's wedding. Before kissing the bride, Dana Hanna, a Software Developer took his cellphone and updated his relationship status on Facebook and Twitter. As a stunned congregation looked on Dana he told cyberspace 'Standing at the altar with @TracyPage where just a second ago, she became my wife! Gotta go, time to kiss my bride.' He also handed one over to his new wife to do the same. We appreciate you keep us informed Dana, but I hope you don't do the same at every stage of your honeymoon… We get the picture anyway.
The man who was blasted to death with a shotgun after argument via Twitter with friend
Police in the U.S. are investigating what they believe is the first murder carried out because of messages posted on Twitter. Detectives in New York say a deadly confrontation between two friends came about after angry comments were posted on the micro-blogging site. According to police, Blake, 22, and Dancy, also 22, had spent weeks sending each other angry messages via their Twitter accounts. The pair, childhood friends, lived on the same floor of a high-rise block of flats but had fallen out over a girl. The pair had started to send each other spiteful messages on their Twitter accounts. Other friends joined in the row by adding to the tweets. Hours before Dancy was blasted in the neck with a shotgun, Blake sent his victim a tweet which said: 'N------s is looking for u don't think I won't give up ya address for a price betta chill asap!' Dancy, who was training as a nurse, died after being shot as he left his home in Harlem, New York on December 1st. The murder weapon was later found abandoned in Central Park along with a spent shell. Two days after the killing Blake took to his Twitter account to post the message: 'R.I.P. Kwame'.
The Tenant who faces $50k lawsuit for defamation in Twitter to her 17 followers
A tenant who used Twitter to complain about her ‘mouldy' flat is facing a $50,000 lawsuit. Amanda Bonnen was accused of defaming her landlords after updating her online status to say ‘Who said sleeping in a mouldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it's okay.' The Chicago company says Bonnen's flat was one of several affected by an overnight leak in March when a contractor was making roof repairs. Jeff Michael, general counsel for Horizon, said Bonnen moved out on June 30 of her own accord. The company claims her tweet was published ‘throughout the world' and severely damaged its good name. Mr Michael told the Sun-Times: 'The statements are obviously false and it's our intention to prove that.'Bonnen was not contacted before the lawsuit was launched or asked to remove the message. Although Bonnen's account was set to public, meaning any Twitter user could see it, a Google-cache of the now deactivated account shows she had just 17 followers, so it doesn't look like the message could have travelled far.
The couple who had their house trashed by 150 drunken teenagers that gatecrashed a party announced on Twitter
A retired couple's home was trashed after 150 drunken teenagers gatecrashed a party advertised on a social networking site. Brian and Glennis McDonald, who were attending a wedding, had given their 15-year-old granddaughter Victoria permission for two friends to stay the night as a treat. They even left her a note saying: 'Bye darling. Have fun with your two friends.' But just hours later, they were called by police and forced to return home to a scene of devastation after the gathering snowballed out of control when details were posted on Twitter. Patio doors were ripped off, televisions and windows smashed, paintings ruined and empty beer bottles strewn across the garden, leaving the elderly couple with a £1,000 repair bill. Bottles of champagne and ornaments were also stolen. The neighbour said Victoria appeared to have been taken by surprise when dozens of teenagers began to arrive at the house at around 9pm.
The TV Presenter who got her lost passport back via Twitter
Most of us can identify with the inconvenience of losing a passport. So celebrity offspring Peaches Geldof was understandably relieved when she got hers back - via the unlikely route of social networking website Twitter. The 20-year-old's passport fell out of her bag, which meant Peaches faced having to change her travel plans. But a woman found the document as she took a stroll through an East London park with her children. When the mum realised who the passport belonged to, she sent a 'tweet' to Peaches who then sent a courier to collect it. Peaches was resigned to the fact that she would need to apply for a new passport. Then she received a Twitter message from someone telling her that they had found it - she was over the moon.
