As confirmation came on Monday morning that Yahoo! would in fact be acquiring blogging site Tumblr for $1.1 billion, employees (and the CEO) of Tumblr celebrated, Yahoo! promised "not to screw it up" and users showed skepticism. 

AP

This combo of photos released by the FBI Friday April 19 shows what the FBI is calling suspects number 1, left, and suspect number 2, right, walking through the crowd in Boston on Monday, April 15, 2013, before the explosions at the Boston Marathon.

As authorities closed in on the Boston Marathon bombing suspects -- one of whom was killed during a violent shootout in Boston's Watertown suburb early Friday -- Twitter and other social media outlets lit up with outtakes from police scanner reports, including a moment when eavesdropping tweeters heard the name of a missing Brown University student come over the airwaves in conjunction with the Monday attacks.

"Police on scanner identify the names of #BostonMarathon suspects in gunfight, Suspect 1: Mike Mulugeta. Suspect 2: Sunil Tripathi," read the most retweeted of the tweets, from the hacker group Anonymous. The post was retweeted nearly 3200 times.

But on Friday morning, it was certain: Tripathi was not involved with the bombings at all. Neither was the other named referenced. Authorities had identified the suspects as brothers with the last name Tsarnaev. Dzhokar, 19, was still wanted; his 26-year-old brother, Tamerlan, was dead after a night of violence that included the shooting to death of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer, robbing a 7-Eleven, car-jacking a Mercedes SUV and injuring a Boston transit police officer.

In the age of live streaming audio and fast tweets, amateur sleuths can spread police scanner chatter -- which is just that, chatter -- more quickly than ever. But the dissemination of information comes with a risk: endangering law enforcement or the public.

"The last thing we want to become are reporters for the fugitive,"  Clint Van Zandt, former FBI profiler and NBC criminal analyst, said. "That's what I think people who tweet and post have to be careful of in the extreme and worst-case scenario. Are they giving information that would give aid and comfort to a killer? If you ask yourself that question and the answer is no, then go ahead and post it." 

Boston police mentioned Tripathi and the other less-known name on their scanner just before 1 a.m. Friday morning, about two hours after law enforcement officials first encountered the suspects they had been hunting since Monday's attack.

Missing student's family 'staggered' by false accusation

AP

This undated photo released by Brown University shows Brown University student Sunil Tripathi, who was last seen in the Brown campus area on Saturday morning, March 16, 2013 in Providence, R.I. For a few hours, social media lit up with reports that Tripathi was mistakenly identified as one of the Boston Marathon suspects.

Prior to the bombings, Tripathi's disappearance was reported to be a possible suicide. It's unclear why his name and Mulugeta's came up on the police scanner, but some on Twitter posted side-by-side photos of Tripathi and one of the Boston marathon suspects who had been seen on surveillance wearing a white hat. 

"Is there any doubt that Suspect #2 on the run is Sunil Tripathi?" wrote one, @HonestyInGov, comparing Tripathi's dark curly hair and thin frame to that of the suspect's.

Misinformation is not the only danger. As of Friday morning, nearly 83,000 were simultaneously streaming a live audio of Boston's police scanner from a single website, broadcastify.com. Listening to unfiltered feeds of Boston's police, fire, and emergency personnel comes with a responsibility for those people, says Van Zandt, the former FBI profiler.

Because the Boston suspects are believed to have been in the U.S. since 2002 or 2003, "they may well be subscribing to these blogs and tweets, and that gives them inside information," he said.

He added, though, that even broadcasting a live raid on television or cable can give away information to suspects, who could be watching their own search play out live.

"I've seen situations where the bad guys sit inside of a house or building, see which way the cops are coming, then start shooting from inside the door," he said. "Every time I talk on TV, I think the bad guy is listening. I think, what do I want him to hear? I keep trying to get a guy to surrender."

Related content:

'Dedicated officer' gunned down by Boston Marathon suspects at MIT

Profile of suspects in Boston Marathon bombing

Nearly 1 million told to stay indoors, transit canceled

Massive manhunt for 2^nd suspect after 1^st one killed 

Photos from Bostonians locked down amid terror hunt 

American Red Cross

The American Red Cross Safe and Well website is one way to look for loved ones; another is Google's Person Finder.

By Suzanne Choney, contributing writer, NBC News.com

Following the confusion and panic caused by the Boston Marathon bomb blasts, websites have been set up for people to report that they're safe, or check in on a loved one.

The best mainstream resource is the Red Cross' Safe and Well site, where you do two things: register yourself as being "safe and well," or find out other people's status. Those people will have to register with the site first, of course.

Google has activated its Person Finder service to help people locate each other. The search giant has used this in the past, for both U.S. and international crises, such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake and Japan's 2011 tsunami strike.

If you have loved ones who ran in the Boston Marathon, you can check on their last check-ins at the marathon's website here. (A marathon enthusiast set up an independent Facebook page where some are checking in, too.) The Boston Marathon's official Facebook page has also turned into a site to share information about what happened.

(Runners, for example, who got away from the scene, leaving their bags behind, were told on the Facebook page that "baggage claim is now open on Berkeley Street between Boylston Street and St. James Avenue. All unclaimed bags will remain secure."

Families searching for loved ones can call this number at the Boston mayor's office for information: 1-617-635-4520. Anyone with information about the blasts that can lead to an arrest are encouraged to call 1-800-494-TIPS, or text the word TIP to CRIME (27463).

Google

Google's Person Finder.

Hotlines aside, if you can avoid using your cellphones to call in and out of Boston, and instead use text messaging and social media, you will reduce strain on the cellular networks, and help improve essential communication.

If you do live in the Boston area, update your own status on Twitter or Facebook, to let others know you're OK.

Twitter

Tweets, like this one from a runner, includes the hashtag #runchat.

On Twitter, the #runchat hashtag can be used to learn about updates about runners, as well as more information from the Red Cross by following the organization on Twitter using @RedCrossEastMA and @MassEMA. And on Reddit, a user set up a resource page, continuously aggregating many sources and tools from around the Web.

Two teenage girls accused of threatening the 16-year-old victim in the Steubenville, Ohio, rape case were released on house arrest Wednesday and ordered not to use social media.

The girls were arrested in the aftermath of the guilty verdicts of two high school football player, Trent Mays, 17, and Ma’lik Richmond, 16, who a judge found raped the West Virginia girl during a night of heavy drinking.

The case drew national notoriety to the small Ohio town where the successful “Big Red” high school football team is a source of community pride.

Social media postings of images, video and text messages played a unique role in the prosecution’s case. A 12-minute video shocked many for the callous and profane way the boys discussed raping the victim.

In Wednesday's juvenile court hearing, defense attorneys for the two accused girls entered a denial to the charges, equivalent to a not guilty plea, NBC station WTOV reported.

The judge and prosecution also discussed releasing information from the girls’ twitter accounts and cell phones.

In addition releasing the girls to their homes, the judge ordered them not to contact the victim, a West Virginia resident. The accused girls had been held at a juvenile detention center.

The original rape trial verdict was announced on Sunday, March 18, and by the next day State Attorney Mike DeWine had charged a 16-year-old girl with aggravated menacing for threatening the victim’s live on Twitter, and a charged  a 15-year-old girl with menacing and threatening bodily harm to the victim on Facebook.

According to NBC station WPXI, which cited an investigator, one of the threats on Twitter said, “You ripped my family apart. You made my cousin cry. So when I see you it’s going to be homicide.”

A wide-ranging investigation is also under way that could lead to more charges in the case, DeWine said after the verdict.

Related:

Two teen girls charged for online threats against Steubenville rape victim
Verdicts in Steubenville high school rape trial
Steubenville high school rape trial zeroes in on texts, photos, video

A day after a juvenile court judge found two Steubenville High School football players guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl, Ohio’s attorney general announced two more teens have been arrested — for allegedly using social media to threaten the victim.

A 16-year-old girl will face a charge of aggravated menacing for threatening the life of the victim on Twitter, according to a statement from State Attorney Mike DeWine.

A 15-year-old girl is charged with menacing after being accused of “threatening bodily harm” to the victim on Facebook, DeWine said.

On Sunday, Trent Mays, 17, and Ma'lik Richmond, 16, were found guilty of raping the teenage girl during a night of heavy drinking and partying in a high-profile case that drew national attention to the small Ohio town.

Shortly after the trial concluded, DeWine announced a new, wide-ranging investigation that could yield more charges.  

"Let me be clear. Threatening a teenage rape victim will not be tolerated.  If anyone makes a threat verbally or via the internet, we will take it seriously, we will find you, and we will arrest you," DeWine said in a statement.

Social media played a unique role throughout the investigation as investigators used photos, messages and videos posted online to piece together what happened the night of Aug. 11, 2012. A now infamous 12-minute video shocked many in the town of 18,000 for the callous and profane way they discussed raping the young female.

"You were your own accuser, through the social media that you chose to publish your criminal conduct on,"  the mother of the victim told the boys after the verdict was read.

And more charges are likely to come down the line, perhaps for the football coaches and parents where the parties were held. Next month a grand jury will meet to consider evidence gathered during dozens of interviews, including the coaching staff of the Steubenville football team.

"I've reached the conclusion that this investigation cannot be completed, simply cannot be completed, that we cannot bring finality to this matter without the convening of a grand jury," DeWine said on Sunday, barley an hour after the judge handed down the guilty verdicts.

The two teens charged Monday are being held in a local detention center. WTRF of Steubenville reports the two will appear in front of a judge on Tuesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

The two Ohio high school football stars accused of raping a drunken 16-year-old girl humiliated “somebody who was too impaired to say no, somebody who was too impaired to say stop,” a prosecutor said Wednesday.

In her opening statement at a trial that has divided the football-obsessed town of Steubenville, prosecutor Marianne Hemmeter also said that the girl was “soft-spoken, mumbling and not participating” in the assault.

Two players, quarterback Trent Mays and wide receiver Ma’Lik Richmond, are accused of using their hands to violate the girl in a car and in a basement during a night of victory parties last August.

The case became national news because graphic cellphone photos and video, including a YouTube posting of a partygoer cracking crude jokes about the alleged rape, spread on social media.

In a brief opening statement, Brian Duncan, the lawyer representing Mays, said simply: “Trent Mays did not rape the young lady in question.” The lawyer for Richmond declined to make an opening statement.

Jason Cohn / Reuters file

Harding Stadium, home of the Steubenville High Big Red football team. Two members are going on trial Wednesday for allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl in a case that drew national attention.

The girl, who told police she didn’t remember the incident, will be among dozens of witnesses taking the stand. Three players who have not been charged but allegedly witnessed the encounters are expected to testify for the prosecution.

The prosecution’s evidence also includes a photograph posted on Instagram of Mays, 17, and Richmond, 16, carrying the teen out of a house by her arms and legs.

The prosecution called six witnesses on Wednesday, including two 17-year-old girls who knew the alleged victim.

Questioned by prosecution and defense attorneys about how much the teen girl had to drink, the first witnesses testified they saw the alleged victim on the night of Aug. 11.

One of the girls, a Steubenville High student, said alleged victim was having difficulty walking but never appeared to pass out. She also testified that after midnight, Mays and the victim, who said she was OK, left a house party. That came despite efforts by the witness to stop her.

Prosecutors appeared to try to show how drunk and nonparticipatory the alleged victim was, while the defense attempted to show that she was making decisions that night and at one point told friends she was fine and able to take care of herself.

The other 17-year-old witness said she had never seen her friend so intoxicated.

The final witnesses of the day were the Steubenville police detectives involved in confiscating phones and other devices from people involved in the case and getting them to the state lab for analysis. The defense on cross examination was able to get police to concede it took 16 days before the accusers shirt and pants were taken to the lab for analysis.

The trial has put the town, where “Big Red football” dominates life, under a harsh spotlight. Town officials and business leaders have taken to the media to say that the case doesn’t reflect Steubenville.

In a sign of the tension surrounding the case, Richmond’s grandmother has said she has been threatened.

If convicted, Mays and Richmond could be held in a juvenile jail until they are 21.

NBC News correspondent Ron Allen, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

This story was originally published on Wed Mar 13, 2013 5:56 AM EDT

Photos shown here are from @ruthspiro, @shamrock604, @shankilpatrick and @trayce1999 on Twitter.

Follow NBC News' complete coverage of the blizzard on Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #NBCNewsStorm.

A major winter storm is threatening to cover parts of the northeastern United States in up to two feet of snow. Here's a look at reports from the ground shared through social media. Share your images by tagging them #NBCNewsPics and follow our coverage at the hashtag #NBCNewsStorm.

From inspiring tales of love to the tragedy of the Aurora, Colo., theater shooting and intrigue surrounding the presidential election, 2012 offered stories that quickly became the talk of social networks. Here's a look back at some of the most-shared stories of the year on NBCNews.com and TODAY.com.

In the wake of the Aurora, Colo. "Batman Rises" theater shooting tragedy, social networks are flooded with posts from victims, friends, relatives, witnesses and other observers. Here is what they are saying — and seeing:

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