2 Stolen Cell Phones, 2 Alternative Endings

A few weeks ago a good friend of mine called me up from a friend's cell phone sounding completely distraught. Someone had stolen her iPhone after she accidentally left it at a makeup counter in Nordstrom. When she remembered she had put it down, she quickly returned, but the phone was already gone.

The security cameras inside the department store confirmed the theft, as it showed a woman go up to the counter and snatch the phone almost immediately after it was left alone. My friend quickly contacted the Providence Police Department but, as the story goes, the phone was long gone and each minute passing after its theft made it less likely to be found. This is supposed to mark the end. An unfortunate series of events results in a stolen phone with little recourse on the part of the original owner. In the context of crime, its a small matter, a closed case that isn't worth the time and effort to investigate. There was no investigation into the identity of the thief and no one besides the victim and her friends, family, and the clerk at the police station who accepted the theft report knew about this crime.

So Shirky looks at the completely alternative end to the story of a stolen cell phone. His case study is fascinating. Instead of closing the book on the stolen phone in the taxicab, the owner and her friend start their own networking campaign to find the phone. The snowball effect that occurs results in an almost nationwide hunt for one cell phone. Out of all the stolen cellphone stories, this one certainly reaches the most people. The person who sets up the website starts getting 10 emails a minute. Thats astonishing. To use current lingo, it goes 'viral'. People begin emailing offering to help, ask questions, and extend sympathy. The manpower this attracts is certainly disproportionate to the actual problem.

Of course, this particular story is ripe with sensationalist characteristics. Its not your typical story, so its going to get eaten up by everyone who gets their hands on it. It involves two determined yuppies, a young, defiant Spanish girl from Queens, hints of violence, retribution, personal explorations, etc. To add to it, New York City is the backdrop.

But the fact that it reached such a wide range of people echoes Shirky's idea. There was no one formal organization here that brought people together - no 'Society of Stolen Cell Phone Hunters'. No one had to pay dues to get a newsletter announcing this theft. And it certainly wasn't as serious as a nationwide manhunt for a killer or lost child. But it made it to the highest echelons of the media, even though it started with just two people. And most importantly, it utterly captivated an audience.

Obviously, the game has changed. With channeling, en masse, energy into outlets like blogs, youtube videos, and other informal, unorganized mediums, the competition is now survival of the most outrageous - a rat race of zany. That story which is viewed as craziest, oddest, or least likely to happen again is the one thats going to get the attention. The outcome is not known, as everything plays out in real time. Unfortunately for my friend, her stolen cell phone was just that and she had to dish out $500 for a new one. Fortunately for Ivanka and Evan, they were able to make it more than just a stolen cell phone. They made it an ongoing narrative of the often illusive search for justice in a cold, unforgiving metropolis. They won.