It looks like there’s another way that Facebook is serving mankind: By helping fix traffic problems in India. Hey, don’t underestimate the little social network that could.
It all started when overburdened police officers in New Delhi started a Facebook page to let the public friend-up and give them suggestions on how the endlessly snarled traffic situation in the city might be improved. The public came through in a surprising way. Within two months, over 17,000 people had signed up and were offering their opinions loud and clear.
“You wanna fix things?” they seemed to be saying, “Start busting the bad guys!” And with that they posted almost 3,000 photos of their fellow drivers breaking the law in one way or another.
Using the pictures, the police have currently cranked out about 700 tickets for things like drivers making illegal turns or motorcyclists without a helmet. It’s all pretty minor stuff, but suddenly the Indian public is looking over its collective shoulder. Could somebody be taking their picture while they’re gorging on mutton curry and steering with their knees?
And who knows? This might be so successful that it could be picked up by a police station near you. But is that a good or bad thing? I mean, it feels a little 1984ish. I just wonder if George Orwell himself would have imagined that the watching eyes of Big Brother might actually be your brother, using his trusty iPhone to grab a pic of you drafting that 18-wheeler while dry-shaving in your rearview mirror.
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