The Skip, the Bounty Hunter & the Poke(y)

MP900407444 Criminals need love, too.  So much so, that even after committing a crime – and jumping bail – they still can't contain themselves from looking for love on Facebook, MySpace, et al.  You know how you're always hearing the warning, "That intriguing woman named Jenny you're IMing with might actually be a 13-year-old male student from Minnesota"?

Well, it also might be the last name of an anal-retentive, 28-year-old male bounty hunter who's tracking you across state lines.  It also might – as it did in this case – lead to your recapture.

In a 140-character world, I hope you'll take the time to read this story, because you'll get a lot more out of it than you think.  Not only do we see another convergence between the old, in the form of an 1873 Supreme Court case Taylor v. Taintor, and the new, social media, but I'd like you to focus on how much information Jenny gleans just from pouring over the skip's profiles.

If you're purely a data-tech, I understand how you may not care about any of this, but all we ever hear is how everyone wants everyone else to cooperate.  In order to cooperate, it helps to understand how others do their jobs, why they do them the way they do them and what they're hoping to accomplish.  Or, in simpler terms, the psychology of it.

The reality is, if people kept their mouths shut, you'd be amazed how many more cases would remain un-solved.  While this is a criminal example, it applies in a civil context as well.

Loose lips do, indeed, sink ships.  It's just that nowadays, the anchor is attached to social media.