Twitter as a
Security Log for Personal Safety
My friends daughter lives alone in
Delhi in a private apartment. Her work necessitates late hours of working in
the night. She has to return home at odd hours. She also frequently travels by
train and air to other cities. Delhi being a notorious city, she would like to
take a few precautions while travelling whether it is within the city and
elsewhere.
Her parents are in Hyderabad.
Whenever she sets out say by an auto or taxi she would send a text message to
her parents. On her return home, another short SMS: SE. GN meaning Safely
Ensconced. Good night. Changes in her
plans for the day are also made known. Supposing she does not have anyone to
report to or does not have anyone bother about her, what can she do? She may
want to keep a log of her movements safely elsewhere stored away for eventual
usage, say similar to a black box of an aircraft.
Twitter offers a good solution. She
can open a private Twitter account perhaps exclusively for such log details and
share it with a couple of close friends and relatives who matter to her. All
that she needs to do is to regularly send SMS based Tweets about her movements
and other events to this private account. Copies of Tweets may be sent to one
or two close friends who follow her on Twitter. Such deliveries could be on
the mobile phone. Such a log will be very useful for persons living alone say
single ladies or senior citizens. The sense of security it affords is
immeasurable.
Should any misfortune occur or if
anything goes wrong, the logs are always available for examination. It will
help Police and relatives providing lot of clues. Sending SMS will not attract
the attention of others around you. You need not talk which may be overheard –
say while you are alone in a taxi. Even the vehicle number could be logged.
One of my friends always packs an
extra pair of Spectacles when he travels out of town. Same practice is sensible
for the Cell phone also.
We should put all available
technology to best use. Will someone try and share his/her experience?