As I am typing this article Britain is wondering what has happened. There have been riots in a number of major cities, including the capital, London, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Nottingham. The initial riot was sparked by the death of Mark Duggan who was shot by police last Thursday. Since then there have been numerous incidents across London and in other cities around the nation.

It is now emerging that those taking part in the riots are often using social media services such as Twitter and BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) to co-ordinate their activities. Usually this involves users simply letting friends know about vulnerable businesses that can be attacked. Many of the incidents do not seem to be politically motivated but are simply the acts of a mob element within society.

The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has cut short his holiday in Tuscany to chair a special meeting of COBRA to try to find a way to deal with the unrest that is sweeping many of our cities and the British Parliament has been recalled from its summer recess to discuss the matter. Britain has seen riots before, they were an annual event in the first half of the 1980’s but these are perhaps different in a number of ways. During the 80’s it tended to be just deprived inner city areas that were affected. Last night we have seen disturbances in the relatively affluent area of Ealing. We are also living in an era of 24 hour news coverage and smartphone usage. This means that there is much more material available to convey the magnitude of the events. Not only are journalists reporting the news but so are the people. I have just carried out a search for “London Riots” on You Tube and have returned 7930 results. Trending topics on Twitter in the UK right now include #riotcleanup, #prayforlondon, #pias (The organisation who had a warehouse burnt down), #Cobra and Teresa May (The British home secretary).

I have watched many comments about the riots on both Facebook and Twitter over the last 24 hours and find that the vast majority are against what has happened. One of those trending topics, #riotcleanup, is a way that people are collaborating on Twitter to organise clean up efforts. One Tweet I have just read is from @kayaburgess and reads “Almost everyone getting off the train at Clapham Junction is carrying a broom.” There is now a website www.riotcleanup.co.uk that has been created again to help co-ordinate the clean-up operation, not by the authorities but by ordinary Londoners who are appalled by the activities of a minority.

The press have been quick to say how the rioters have been using social media but I think it is worthwhile mentioning the good ways that social media has been utilised. The first hand video clips that are currently being broadcast and are available all over the net give us a real sense of what is happening, far more than any journalist can in a news report. The anger that has been felt by the majority of the British population has a way to express itself in a way that simply would not have been possible 10 years ago.  There are numerous groups that have been created on Facebook including “Supporting the Met Police against the London rioters” that at the time of writing has just short of half a million members.

This year we have seen Facebook and Twitter both used during the so-called Arab Spring to help organise resistance in many Arab countries. We in The West have looked on and even felt a greater affinity to our brethren in their struggle for freedom. Now we have seen these same technologies used to harm our own communities and there are calls for services such as Twitter and BBM to be closed down until the riots have stopped. I would urge that this does not happen, to do so would start to turn Britain into a totalitarian state. When would the next time be that social media services would be turned off? The next time a big anti-government march is planned? Let the people have their say, let the people use social media to co-ordinate their efforts to stop this violence.

I currently have a poll running on my Facebook business page asking whether people think that BBM should be turned off, you can access it at http://trymy.info/mRuXHZ. I would love to hear your views on this.

Over the last few days we have seen social media used first in a negative way but now in a more positive way. Social media is not going to go away to try and control or censor social media is ultimately pointless as people always find a way to circumnavigate controls and censorship. Let us embrace social media. Let us use it to give people a voice that can be heard not just in our communities but across the globe. Let us use it to show what is great about Britain, the people, our tolerance and the fact that we are prepared to go out not armed with a broom handle to do damage but a broom to clean up the mess.

I love you Great Britain!