2013-05-21: An Update About Archiving Tweets

Today I encountered this article about a UK driver bragging on Twitter about hitting a cyclist.  Rather than extend an already lengthy post about archiving tweets from two weeks ago, this example will be its own post. 

Summary: a woman hit a bicyclist participating in a race (the cyclist apparently was not seriously injured) and then bragged about it on Twitter.  The cyclist was apparently not going to report the event, but her bragging changed his mind and he contacted the police:

@emmaway20 we have had tweets ref an RTC with a bike. We suggest you report it at a police station ASAP if not done already & then dm us
— Norwich Police (@NorwichPoliceUK) May 19, 2013

The driver deleted her Twitter account, but the offending evidence has already been archived -- not just by concerned citizens making copies (check the thread in the Tweet above), but Topsy also has archived the evidence as well.

Interestingly, unlike the Twitpic examples in the previous post, the Instagram images do not have a thumbnail on Topsy (the thumbnails are pulled directly from instagram.com).  I won't be posting about all ill-advised tweets that will surely occur in the future, but this example was too good to pass up.  I predict the driver has earned a mention on an upcoming "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!"

--Michael