Monday, March 7, 2011
We have a question for you: Have your brushed up on your social media skills?
When I was a teen, spending the weekend with friends at the Livingston Mall was something to do. We’d walk the mall in our group, spending money, our Lancer varsity jackets a magnet to meet other teens from rival sports towns. The mall has always been a gathering place for teens. And make no mistake, the mall caters to this crowd: Teens spend serious cash. So when did Friday night turn into a threatened “Hell Night?” That was the social media buzz word for a Facebook event targeting Livingston Mall just as it did downtown South Orange and Jersey Gardens Mall before. The event fizzled before it even got off the ground, canceled supposedly when organizers saw that police were onto the plan. That wasn’t the end of it, though. Friday night was…
Friday, March 4, 2011
Threat of flash mob turns out to be just a flash in the pan.
It's possible that whoever made the Facebook page, “Hell Night at Livingston Mall” thought only the 1,000 or so invitees would know. Think again. Police are patrolling social media sites and Friday night they apparently quashed plans for a flash mob with a splash of force so mighty that one young woman talking on the phone was overheard saying, “There are so many police, they must think Obama is coming.” Actually, they were just expecting teens. And lots of them. Mall management and police said they had plans in place if needed. And they did: A small army of law enforcement patrolling the mall and parking lots: NJ Transit Justice Team, Essex County Rapid Deployment Team, Livingston Police, and Mobile Command Post – a virtual blue light …
Facebook event is taken down but police continue to monitor situation.
Mall management and police have plans in place in case a large number of teens descend on the Livingston Mall on Friday night, officials said. Livingston residents have been deeply concerned over the past few days over the possibility that hundreds of teens – similar to huge gatherings last month in South Orange Village and Jersey Gardens Mall in Elizabeth – have targeted the Livingston Mall for what they call an “invasion” on Friday night. “This is NOT the night to go to the mall and more importantly it is important to keep our kids AWAY from the mall,” concerned Livingston residents have shared in email messages to one another. Livingston Mall management, in a statement provided to Livingston Patch on Friday afternoon, said, “We are …
Thursday, March 3, 2011
FB page says event is canceled. Livingston residents warning each other to stay away from mall on Friday night.
Livingston Police are monitoring social media sites, including a Facebook page called “Hell Night at Livingston Mall,” to prepare for a suspected flash mob at the mall on Friday night, according to a spokeswoman at the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. This evening, the Facebook page said the event has been canceled. The situation is unclear and Patch will continue to update this story if more information becomes available. The event posted is the latest in a series of teen-organized gatherings using text messages on cell phones or social media sites. Some of the flash mobs are coordinated over a period of time, through e-mail, social media sites like Facebook or MySpace. The gathering of large groups in a public space isn’t against the …
Laura Griffin
11:58 am on Monday, March 7, 2011
Great column, Marilyn! You're so right that as adults we don't know what we don't know, and even those who are "friends" with their kids and try to stay current with their online lives are only scratching the surface. Like generations before them, today's teens have discovered ways to avoid prying parents. Every time we figure out one thing, they're off to the next -- making it difficult to … more ›