Here’s one of those stories that’s just kind of eerie and sad. About 13 hours ago, hip hop artist Dolla signed up for Twitter. He sent out a couple of tweets and presumably left to go to the Beverly Center in Los Angeles. I know this because he was shot and killed there shortly thereafter.
One of the trending topics on Twitter right now is “RIP Dolla” and hundreds more messages are being directed at Dolla’s now-dormant account. It seems that he’s gained several hundred followers since his death and a lot of people are using the account to pay their respects to him.
Celebrities are now rushing to join Twitter as it’s a great means of promotion. Dolla himself used his second (and last) tweet to promote his MySpace page where he sells his music. It would seem that this may be the first time a relatively famous person that actually uses Twitter (if only for a day) has passed away. And like a MySpace or Facebook wall, this is now another way for fans to pay respect.
This also brings up the personal privacy topic. Dolla did not have a chance to tweet out his location, but just imagine if he had. This would have potentially turned into one of the biggest location service/privacy issues yet. Sadly, it’s only a matter of time before that comes up with one of these celebrities using sites like Twitter.
The police have a person of interest in custody, with regards to Dolla’s murder.
[thanks Eric]
that is dark…what a shame.
That is scary. It can be coincidental though…. MG, how come you wrote about this by putting these two together. In other words, he is the first victim of Twitter? Is that what you are implying here?
That’s sad for Dolla. RIP
Btw, the title of the post should be ‘Twitter Kills..Everyone GTFO’
MG, I never knew you have scary and eerie stories about Twitter. This is a very sad one and as you said, if only he had mentioned his location, there will now be a debate on “Should ‘what are you doing now?’ be tweeted?” Also, Twitter will become a paying-homage site.
What if Twitter is used by people to announce their safety at so-and-so moment in so-and-so place while going on risky tours?
Since it works both ways, could Twitter save my life?
Apparently one guy did use Twitter to get out of a hellish place or situation. Would be nice of him to write a blog post on how Twitter saved him, maybe as a guest post at TC.
You see if you can setup your mobile to a one-key shortcut to SMS your predetermined message “i am fine at this precise moment”, it makes a lot of things easier if you’re on Twitter, on a channel like #iamalive. Especially in natural disasters that do not disrupt mobile/wireless communication lines. Or if some company comes up with a solution where wired internet is a channel to the outside world, while p2p wireless helps mobile users in that area when the network is down.
You need a p2p fail, internet access fail or a twitter fail to prevent that message from going all over the world.
If these three work, a cell network fail becomes redundant. That is big, because cell networks wil fail under heavy loads because they will always under-provision because they want to extract maximum ROI, which could be said to be justifiable.
A disclaimer like “don’t use cell phones for critical systems”.
Maybe I’ve missed out something well-known like this, that’s already out there.
Was that guy killed because he used Twitter? The a$$hole author of this article has written like that. Dude, this is yellow journalism.
@Arrington, stop this Twitter nonsense dude. There was NO reason to have this article, unless there was a connection between Twitter and killers and the reason behind killing that rapper. You are a jackass. Take a break.
If you could read, you would understand there is no connection made in the article. However, the point is that it will happen eventually; because that is just how the world works.
Dolla Didnt even say he was gonna be at the mall. he jus said and i quote: “ABOUT TO TRY THIS TWITTER THING OUT” then he posted the link to space. i was following him on Twit. its sad. but to say he died for usin twitter? wtf, come on now thats dumb. you dont even know the whole story and are already talkin sh*t about what happened. He had an argument in ATL, and ether on a plane or at the airport. then he got on Twitter. and 2 hours later he was murdered. and some ppl say it was over a girl, others say a girl shot him. but idk and not sayin, i jus know that who ever did this needs to torture, he wasnt even a ‘TOUGH GUY’. thats jus dark how ppl can shoot someone instead of talking it out or fighting ‘with fists’.
Go back to “space”, TechCrunch is not “pippin”.
Twitter is dark, aiiiight.
Someone could tweet their location and be met by seedy individuals? Or, If someone dies, people will tweet their regards?
Social networks are always active when people die.
Wrong, they are active when someone famous 99.9999% of the users don’t dies.
We had enough! STOP the twitter related post, TC
It’s getting really annoying and bored~
he probably also bought a pair of Nikes, ate lunch at Wendy’s and watched SportsCenter on a Panasonic TV
What, you mean this isn´t newsworthy and so clearly related to twitter?? Get the fk out of town!
like blogs, twitter and other content will remain after we die. it’s going to get weird after a while. I wonder if Twitter and others will ever create a policy on data retention after death.
I hope they live. Unlike dead flowers at a grave, or old candles on a sidewalk, they don’t age. If a person wants to post pictures of themselves smiling and partying, or in eyeliner and depressed, they are only putting out there what they want people to see.
I was actually thinking about this last night. There are a lot of pets on twitter (@sockington is a perfect example). What happens after these pets die? Do the owners tweet in their memory? Yeah, my mind works in really weird ways.
My sister is currently in the final stages of her life due to cancer. I would sincerely hope that Facebook at least keeps her account live for all to see once she passes as there are some very kind and heart warming words posted on her wall.
You comment has made me realise that perhaps getting her password before the inevitible happens is a good, if hard to approach, idea.
For me, the disturbing part of this is other Twitter users encouraging people to follow him.
Why?? He’s dead, FFS! It’s highly unlikely he’s going to have anything interesting to say now!
you’re right. but I followed him. no idea why.
Maybe to pay respect somehow?
how is it respect? He’s dead. He aint tweetin anymore.
May seems a little bit cold, but why show respect to someone you did not care a single shit yesterday?
He’s dead, that’s sad yes, but seriously that fuckin hypocrite the attitude you all have. The only respect you can give this dead man is just to let is friends and family be in mourning and leave them in peace instead of going all over this the “Twitter is so cool” way…
Because you are a loser?
because there’s an API called afterlifetweet
its the same thing as adding someones myspace page and stuff…as a sign of respect.you can still follow someone after death.whether he’s here or not, he still has music thats unreleased and such.we have to support his work.
I will stop tweeting! Twitter kills!
Or this is a new generation of “don’t use MySpace” post?
who the f* cares, people die every day
Fo*Shizzle
RIP. This is crazy…They took it too far this time. The rap game is a game, but they don’t need to take someone’s life because of it. Sad.
There are a lot of hip hop artists, rappers & DJs on Twitter now. But being on Twitter has no bearing on his death. He probably made phone calls or updated his MySpace page before his death, too.
what i find relevant is that he joined twitter just before his death, tweeted twice and was then killed. I understand you don’t think that’s interesting, but I really just don’t think techcrunch is for you.
i got to hand it to you mike headline news thought this was worthy..keep doing what you do.
Yes we know it’s not a democracy here. But at least consider what your regular readers think.
So what? Its not relevant at all, its just a coincidence. Do some real work, and quit posting about twitter crap.
Give me a break Arrington, so someones family member kissed them goodbye and sent an email prior to leaving for the office this morning. LOOK AT THE CONNECTION THERE! Clearly sending an email and kissing their family member was directly related to them getting plowed by a truck pulling out of the driveway.
You’re acting like “tweeting” led to his death.
@ Arrington
“but I really just don’t think techcrunch is for you.”
Dude, your becoming an asshole. Take a vacation, get laid, sip green tea, read a book or whatever. You should be thrilled people read your blog. Chill guy!!
Agreed. Get over yourself Arrington. You’re smarter than this.
I joined twitter then 10 minutes later farted.
You’re right, it’s not. The majority of the readers are writers are idiots. Your focus is extremely narrow, and much of your reporting relies on speculation. You blow things ridiculously out of proportion, and then rely on straw man arguments to prove your points. As a publication, you also tend to attack those who disagree with you, which is childish and ignorant.
twitter nice ???I don’t use it
That’s really sad.
It’s really a shame to hear about someones life being cut too short. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family .
Im wondering whats the news here…
Twitter or the murder?
Sad, but how is this tech news – any moreso than with someone famous dying after using email or making a phone call?
ENOUGH WITH THE TWITTER ALREADY.
Dig a little deeper. There are plenty of other good, quality tech stories.
I agree. We know Twitter has become a mass communication utility like phone service. Now it is time to move on to other tech topics.
God.. Please please stop these f**king twitter stories. I wish I am a damn talented hacker to kill twitter site and the domain.
No need, that happens by itself on a regular basis.
they write twitter stories to give your pathetic ass something to bitch and moan about. If you don’t like them, don’t read them, and sure the fuck don’t comment on them.
Look, I like Twitter, I use Twitter, I think it’s a fun service. But how is this news? How is this TechCrunch news?
Headline: Man Dies
TechCrunch Headline: Man Dies After Tweeting
Phone Blog Headline: Man Dies After Using Cell Phone
Auto Blog Headline: Man Dies After Driving in Car
Food Critic Blog: Man Dies After Eating Sandwich
Plumber Blog: Man Dies After Using Bathroom
None of these make any sense, aside from the first headline. I expect this to be in the generic news, not the technology news. Just because someone uses technology and then through no cause of it, dies, does not make it technology news.
Now, if he Tweeted his location and it was shown (or at least assumed) that his murders used Twitter to track him down – that’s tangentially TechCrunch news.
*murderers
I agree you with, but now I wonder who and where the ReTweets started.
You touch on location based services and you’re right that it’s only a matter of time before there is a high profile situation that occurs!
So now you delete comments from persons who criticize the way you deliver “tech news” (aka facebook/twitter advertisements).
It’s healthy to accept a different opinion but perhaps you need fans/followers/herd and not persons who don’t buy this kind of disturbing, annoying, misleading posts.
Go on, make some more twitter-promotion over this dead person.
Pathetic.
P.S. BTW the right title for this stupid post would be “Hip Hop Star Murdered Just Two Hours After His First Tweets And Just One Hour After Creating A Holocaust Denial Group On Facebook”.
“He sent out a couple of tweets and presumably left to go to the Beverly Center in Los Angeles.”
I live reasonably near there in West LA. It’s a shame we can’t have peace in a city like LA. Violence is not the answer.
Gangsta rapper gets shot. Not news regardless of what proceeded it.
Man is shot and killed. Is it news now? Maybe you just don’t value life if it doesn’t concern the people you consider important. I’m not saying that this Twitter post has any relevance though.
The whole point here is: Rapper dies after trying to promote his work using Emerging Tech for Internet Marketing.
His death causing an extra wave of publicity (for Twitter). R.I.P. Tweets are not stupid.
I can see why people are saying that this is not technology related news. I don’t think that in this case Twitter had anything to do with the killers finding their target, but the point to the story is that it made a lot of noise on twitter and that it is indeed probably just a matter of time before someone gets killed or otherwise attacked because their location and activities were so clearly marked on Twitter.
This may not be considered “news” by some, but it is certainly meant to make us think a little.. and that’s what TC is all about.
Ok this is out of control, the story here is about how the twitter sheep think twitter is so important that it must be a factor in his death.
His death and twitter are not connected,but the fact that it became a trending topic and got on this site is a story that should have been written.
He was not a hip hop star, but a dude trying to be a star and now thanks to twitter follow the leader mentality he has gotten attention and followers that dont honestly wish well but are just following a trend.
RIP to the guy, and hope his family well.
But this story does not belong on a tech site. This has nothing to do with tech…. He used twitter before his death, and what should the phone blogs talk about him using his cell phone just hours before dying?
MG is a TWIT, and a TWITTER HAG
you mean tweet or TWIT as in This Week In Tech? there are huge differences
Life on the streets is hard when you tweet.
This is opening the door for many poor jokes.
phew…thankfully when i joined twtr, i didn’t get shot.
this blog is lame…..
M.A. is right. I think it is very interesting. coincidence, yes. but twitter is hot right now and anything about it is interesting. if it was not new it would not have so many comments. look at the mass amount of comments tc gets on twitter stories. people who know they dont like twitter are actually reading the story, scrolling past over 100 comment (at times) and going on a rant about how the story was a waist of time and actually linking to other tc stories about twitter to support their case that twitter is not news worthy. Haters are so very strange.
i don’t read twitter stories….i just read the first paragraph, then i rant.
This is good and funny! So true about envy, so true. “Haters,” or those who are jealous of something, often prove that
1) What they hate is in fact good, better than them, and
2) They are hating because of jealousy
God bless! RIP
hip hop star? no he wasn’t. he was just isigned and shelved.
I don’t get the Twitter reference.
I mean, he probably took a leak in the bathroom of a BP station a few hours before his death, but the eulogies won’t be pouring out from BP credit card customers.
Not a fan of the implication here that somehow tweeting where you are puts you in danger.
That is a very foolish assertion to make.
I’ve slept on strangers couches via Twitter and tweeted out my location (and continue to do so) to meet folks following me.
And look, I’m not a celebrity (nor do I claim to be) and I’ve had stalkers harass me (online, never in person), but they are one person and there are many, many out there who are normal, friendly, and happy to meet folks they talk to online.
I’m just saying, this is a sad story, but let’s not jump to conclusions here about the danger of meeting other Tweeters online or revealing your location.
This is ridiculous. Some wannabe rapper gets shot and happens to have Twittered earlier in the afternoon, so TC is all over it. What a joke. MG Siegler, you are a tool.
*If* he had tweeted his location before he was killed (even if it had nothing to do with this tragic incident), would Twitter be suffering a massive public/political backlash?
It would certainly be a hot topic for conversation. Would it cause a backlash, nope. People have short term memories and really prefer just to pretend bad things don’t happen. Bad things do happen.
http://www.turn...681/detail.html
wow somebody just linked this to me. i didn’t know that i’d find myself in it though. i spent my whole night telling people to follow Dolla &putting up a piece i did of him.
twitter is a way of letting people know what you’re doing…i don’t think there would’ve been backlash but it would’ve made a lot of people think.
Are you working for Twitter? What’s the point of publishing such a story? Guess what, 2 minutes after publishing my latest tweet I went to the bathroom. Could you please relay the info?
The guy was only twenty years old and had a career which appeared ready to take off. Not a fan of his music but I can appreciate the tragedy of this and I can see why a significant number of the Twitter world would too.
Maybe TechCrunch should launch another full time blog named TwitterCrunch. They could even cover stories like “woman joins Twitter, has baby the following day”.
there’s a tweetcrunch.com already
Mike,
I just joined Twitter and had me first threesome with two women shortly thereafter. Coincidence? I think not! Sounds like a TechCruch Twitter story waiting to happen.
Just unsubscribed from TechCrunch on Viigo, as well as my RSS subscription. This site turned from something worthwhile to crap the minute it became twitter discussions 24/7.
Believe it or not there are a significant amount of people who not only don’t give a shit about Twitter but they honestly find it to be a huge ‘noise’ in the tech industry. The sooner people stop talking about it the better.
Nick,
I am tempted to do the same. It’s not a matter of just not wanting to hear about Twitter. If it’s real news great. But this is insane.
MG fondles twitter yet again with another twitter article … this time its about absolutely no technology its about a murder??? MG techcrunch should let you go from their staff your a complete waste of space.
Twitter had nothing to do with his murder and this story is giving a wrong impression IMO.
I think the point of the story should be, it is eerie to read the only two tweets Dolla had done on his account only a couple of hours before his life was taken.
Still, stupid title on article.
The point the author was trying to make is (I believe) how open we are in this still-fairly-new social network we play in.
Imagine if this was your sister who was having “boyfriend issues” and she just tweeted out to her friends she was going to be meeting them at “the” mall store at 7:00 PM. Along comes Mr. Ex with his dad’s “whatever-fires-bullets” and wastes her and approximately all her friends.
Adults should know better, my concern is for the kids who have no idea what they are doing.
R.I.P. Dolla.
Is the underlying message, “Twitter kills?” Ooooohhh, such a BAD comment, I know. I just know I’m not the only one who was thinking that.
Ill humor…. =P
First off, R.I.P Dolla. Secondly, I can tell a lot of you “ppl” have never had a loved one taken violently. If you had you might be outraged at some of these mindless comments. I can also tell that in the real world either most of these “ppl” either have no friends or your immediate circle is as corny as they are. When young black men get shot, I noticed how many other “ppl” scramble to get airtime off of it. Whether it is by applying the prefix “Hip-Hopper”, or by establishing silly connections like this article, it undermines the moment. Someone lost a son, possibly a father, most likely a friend. Imagine a LARGE group of ppl showing up, uninvited, to your brother’s funeral, standing by the casket and telling Twitter jokes or starting arguments about Twitter? Disrespectful, huh? It is appropriate for the Johhnny Noxville, JackAss, Wildboys- crowd, but keep that to yourselves. Oh and I prey this never happens to someone you’re close to. Peace.
OMG that is eerie!!