We are always looking for new applications for social media outlets right? How can we get our message out to more people? How can we create community amongst customers? How we can get 40,000 people to follow us as we escape from the law? Whoa, wait a minute. That last one doesn’t seem very ‘marketing’ oriented does it? Well, that’s because it’s not and it is really a slow news day at least from this blogger’s perspective.

So let’s instead follow the tale of the rocket scientist who escaped from a jail in England and has spent the last 4 months taunting police through his Facebook presence. I say rocket scientist because it wasn’t like he just went to jail and was getting ready for a long stint in the slammer (very 40’s gangster film sounding isn’t it?). No, in fact, he was getting close to the end of a seven year sentence for aggravated burglary but now he may have to find another way to work out his aggravation.

Mashable reports

A British man who has spent the four months following his prison break taunting police with clues and rude gestures on Facebook has finally been caught by Scotland Yard.

After he disappeared from a minimum-security prison in Suffolk in late September, the man (named Craig Lynch) posted status updates about what kind of steak he was eating, the temperature, and his New Year’s plans, stopping just shy of giving police enough information to find him. He even posted profile pictures with signs mocking his pursuers.

How about this for a marketing angle. You can breath new life into the Robert Downery, Jr. movie Sherlock Holmes with the obvious Scotland Yard connection. Maybe a little time travel for Mr. Holmes to the future could be in the works for Sherlock Holmes 2 as he tracks notorious villains and the like using social media. Heck, he already has the CGI stunt part of the future down so why not go all out?

Turns out Mr. Lynch may have been more of a prophet than anything else

The “About Me” section of his Facebook profile said: “You’ll have a laugh with me but it will end in tears. It always does.”

Not the happiest of endings I suppose but what did he expect, privacy with Facebook?

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