If you lose something in the future, it might be a good idea to crowdsource its recovery via Twitter – it worked for a Canadian web consultant who lost his laptop in the US. He tweeted about his lost laptop, and through a series of pretty unbelievable events, one of his Twitter followers was able to get it back safe and sound.
MSNBC reports that Sean Power (@seanpower), a Canadian web consultant, lost his laptop while traveling in the US. He had to leave for Canada without finding it, and resigned himself to buying a new iPad as a replacement.
Without Twitter, the story might’ve ended there.
But with a little advanced tracking technology and some friendly strangers on Twitter, Power got his laptop back just a few days after he thought it was gone for good.
Power had installed a free tracking tool onto his lost laptop, which alerted him – on the night that he purchased his replacement – that his laptop was being used in a bar in Manhattan. It even showed him a screenshot of the perps.
He jumped on Twitter and alerted his followers that his stolen laptop was being used. He sent along the address of the bar just in case someone was able to track it down and retrieve it for him. However, Power didn’t want to get anyone in trouble, so he tried contacting the police… but with no luck. Apparently, they wouldn’t help him because he didn’t submit a police report. And so, the Twitter vigilantes took the situation into their own hands.
One of Power’s followers, @nickreese – who didn’t actually know Power offline – cabbed down to the bar and confronted the thief. The laptop was still in the bar, and, without any altercation, Reese was able to retrieve the laptop.
Reese met up with Power last Thursday in New York, and man and his laptop were reunited.
Doesn’t this story just have “feel-good” written all over it? I know I smiled a bit at the end. There is something in there about the kindness of strangers, the power of hope and, of course, the new ways that Twitter and other social media impacts our lives.
