Facebook can be used in a number of different ways. From keeping in touch with family to sharing photos and organizing parties for your friends. Unfortunately, the latter can come with some danger, as gatecrashers nab the information shared on the social network and use it to storm the celebration.

That’s what happened over the weekend to Georgina Hobday, a teenager in Brighton, England, whose parents had organized a My Super Sweet 16 style party at their family home. One hundred teenagers were invited to the bash, which took place at their four-story listed townhouse in the Sussex seaside resort. However, 400 turned up, causing the four adults left to supervise with a slight headache.

The London Telegraph reports how the problems were caused because the invite sent to some of Georgina’s select friends on Facebook was shared with others. News of a big party in the area then spread via the Internet and mobile phone text messages until the innocent, alcohol-free party turned into a drink-fueled free-for-all.

Local kids, drunk on the beer and vodka later found at the house were said to have scaled the walls, smashed windows and plant pots, and even stripped light bulbs from their fittings. The police were eventually called, and the unwanted guests were cleared out, although some of them reportedly tried to hide under decking in the garden to avoid detection. No arrests were made.

A group calling itself the ‘Facebook Republic Army’ has been blamed. This group exists solely to find parties being held and then run amok at them. As the group’s name implies, Facebook is its main weapon of choice in finding these parties.

This isn’t the first time that Facebook and the Internet have been used to cause mayhem in people’s homes. I reported in June how a new craze known as ‘dipping’ was becoming popular in the UK. This involves using Google Earth to find a house with a large garden and swimming pool, and then using social networks to disseminate the information in order to organize impromptu pool parties.

As much as I’d hate either of these attacks to happen to me, I have to take my hat off to the people doing it for their ingenious use of technology. It’s not as though illegal pool parties or gatecrashing are new phenomenons either, but the methods being used to organize them has just evolved for a new generation skilled at using the Internet.

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Entry was posted on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008 at 11:50 pm under Internet, Opinion, Social Media.  Print This Post

Read more entries by Dave Parrack.
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