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Doing some research for stufftm last night, I googled up the phrase "bent coppers 1920s" and up popped the story of Sergeant George Goddard of the Metropolitan police. Sergeant Goddard was arrested in 1928 as part of a crackdown on London's nightlife when it was discovered he'd been taking bribes not to raid illegal nightclubs. Pulling in over £100 a week (about £7000 in today's money), he'd amassed a stack of over £18,000 in used notes which he had great difficulty in explaining on his policeman's wage of £6 a week. He got 18 months hard labour.
Sergeant Goddard is a footnote, although he was a cause celebre in his day. His case was reported throughout the country, with a tone of shock and outrage at such immorality in the newspaper editorials which we might recognise today. What really struck me about it is that through a twist of history his story is still out there. Instead, the internet has turned him into the exemplar of 1920s police corruption. Look for bent coppers of the era, and he's what comes up. Long forgotten, Google's algorithms have happened upon him and plucked him from being a minor footnote to being the best representative of police corruption for an entire era.
I can't help but wonder what Sergeant Goddard would think of this if he knew. The best part of a century after this was all forgotten, here he is again. I'm sure the era held many examples of corrupt policemen and more than enough cases of them committing far worse crimes, but it's George who the internet has seized upon. The internet does this - either as a mass mind picking up on, say, the Star Wars Kid, or in a completely automated fashion as we see here.
It makes me wonder. A hundred years from now, what aspect of you will the internet pick up on? What search will people type a century hence to pull up your facebook or LJ or other page?
That's today's question, I think. What search string will make you internet famous, a hundred years from now?
Sergeant Goddard is a footnote, although he was a cause celebre in his day. His case was reported throughout the country, with a tone of shock and outrage at such immorality in the newspaper editorials which we might recognise today. What really struck me about it is that through a twist of history his story is still out there. Instead, the internet has turned him into the exemplar of 1920s police corruption. Look for bent coppers of the era, and he's what comes up. Long forgotten, Google's algorithms have happened upon him and plucked him from being a minor footnote to being the best representative of police corruption for an entire era.
I can't help but wonder what Sergeant Goddard would think of this if he knew. The best part of a century after this was all forgotten, here he is again. I'm sure the era held many examples of corrupt policemen and more than enough cases of them committing far worse crimes, but it's George who the internet has seized upon. The internet does this - either as a mass mind picking up on, say, the Star Wars Kid, or in a completely automated fashion as we see here.
It makes me wonder. A hundred years from now, what aspect of you will the internet pick up on? What search will people type a century hence to pull up your facebook or LJ or other page?
That's today's question, I think. What search string will make you internet famous, a hundred years from now?
