David Baxter PhD
Late Founder
Twitter posse helps Ottawa man recover laptop
CBC News
May 13, 2011
An Ottawa man who tracked his stolen laptop to a bar in New York City became a Twitter sensation Thursday night after some of his followers on the social networking website went to the location and confronted the man allegedly using the computer.
Sean Power said his MacBook was stolen three days ago in New York.
On Thursday night, he set about to track it down using free software called Prey that he had earlier installed. Power began chronicling his efforts on Twitter, and began to gather information on the man who was in possession of his computer, including a picture taken with the computer's built-in camera.
Before long, dozens of people began tweeting suggested courses of action.
Power tweeted that he had called police but said they told him they wouldn't pursue the case unless he filled out an incident report.
Before long, dozens of people began tweeting suggested courses of action, and two people in Manhattan who read the tweets went to the bar in Brooklyn to monitor the suspected thief.
"I am sure we can virtually arrange a geek squad intervention to go reclaim your gear. You need help rounding up a posse?" tweeted one responder.
"Don't play macho hero," Power tweeted back. "Be a smart hero ? do what you do best, capture data, measure, assess and report."
Despite Power's repeated objections, the Good Samaritans eventually confronted the man and got the laptop back.
It's unclear how the man allegedly using the computer came into possession of it. But Power said he is not interested in pressing charges, and only wanted to get his laptop back.
Stressful moments
Power said the chain of events was an emotional roller coaster that he worried had spun dangerously out of control.
"There was a tiny little bit of anger, then for the most part then it was let's just find a peaceful solution to this," Power told CBC News.
"But then it was just stress when I realized there were people who literally could have been risking their lives for a stupid piece of plastic. It was just really, really stressful, and no matter how I tried to talk them down, it just really seemed like that was the fuel or impetus for them wanting to do this more," he said.
Power, an author and consultant who monitors websites and web operations, insists the incident was not a hoax or an example of product placement, and said he has no affiliation with any product he used or tweeted about.
"This is not a marketing campaign," said Power.
Power said he was en route to New York Friday to get his laptop back and meet the impromptu posse of people who recovered it for him.
CBC News
May 13, 2011
An Ottawa man who tracked his stolen laptop to a bar in New York City became a Twitter sensation Thursday night after some of his followers on the social networking website went to the location and confronted the man allegedly using the computer.
Sean Power said his MacBook was stolen three days ago in New York.
On Thursday night, he set about to track it down using free software called Prey that he had earlier installed. Power began chronicling his efforts on Twitter, and began to gather information on the man who was in possession of his computer, including a picture taken with the computer's built-in camera.
Before long, dozens of people began tweeting suggested courses of action.
Power tweeted that he had called police but said they told him they wouldn't pursue the case unless he filled out an incident report.
Before long, dozens of people began tweeting suggested courses of action, and two people in Manhattan who read the tweets went to the bar in Brooklyn to monitor the suspected thief.
"I am sure we can virtually arrange a geek squad intervention to go reclaim your gear. You need help rounding up a posse?" tweeted one responder.
"Don't play macho hero," Power tweeted back. "Be a smart hero ? do what you do best, capture data, measure, assess and report."
Despite Power's repeated objections, the Good Samaritans eventually confronted the man and got the laptop back.
It's unclear how the man allegedly using the computer came into possession of it. But Power said he is not interested in pressing charges, and only wanted to get his laptop back.
Stressful moments
Power said the chain of events was an emotional roller coaster that he worried had spun dangerously out of control.
"There was a tiny little bit of anger, then for the most part then it was let's just find a peaceful solution to this," Power told CBC News.
"But then it was just stress when I realized there were people who literally could have been risking their lives for a stupid piece of plastic. It was just really, really stressful, and no matter how I tried to talk them down, it just really seemed like that was the fuel or impetus for them wanting to do this more," he said.
Power, an author and consultant who monitors websites and web operations, insists the incident was not a hoax or an example of product placement, and said he has no affiliation with any product he used or tweeted about.
"This is not a marketing campaign," said Power.
Power said he was en route to New York Friday to get his laptop back and meet the impromptu posse of people who recovered it for him.
