According to the NYDailyNews, gangs in the region are stepping up their game in a very big way. Not so much with more guns or drugs, rather how they communicate with their fellow gang members. With the growth of Twitter use among young people, it was only a matter of time before the gangs of NYC learned about how valuable a communication tool such as Twitter along with similar services can be. In the past, gangs might start a fight with an exchange of words at a mall or at a street corner. Now with Twitter, NYC authorities are finding that young people are literally setting up hits on each other tweet by tweet.

What does this mean to you?

Your first reaction is likely going to be to point out that most readers of CoolTechZone.com do not even live in the affected area. Sadly, however, I think it is also worth pointing out that even in my small town, gangs are using social media as a means of coordinating their efforts. Location means nothing. All one needs to do is look at the tweets coming from their general location and you will likely find some evidence of this.

Clearly some of the people that claim to be using Twitter for gang activity are likely not a threat and are merely foolish young people posing as gang members to look cool, but many of these tweets you see may very well be from these dangerous individuals. As the linked article above manages to point out with great clarity, take anything threatening you see rolling in over social media sites very seriously.

Do not go around picking arguments with strangers over Twitter, and most importantly, report threatening tweets to the authorities. Just because the threat does not feel like a big deal does not mean that it isn’t. Being proactive is likely the best action to maintaining a safe and happy Twitter experience. Just use your head, folks.