Sherlock Holmes describes Wiggins and his baker street irregulars as his unseen eyes and ears across London.
Call me slow, of you wish, but it occurs to me the to Benedict Cumberbatches Sherlock his baker street irregulars are all who may follow him on Twitter or have reason to send him a friend request on Facebook or Google plus.
Where the canonical Sherlock Holmes had a small band of Street Arabs to use Watson’s description the modern Sherlock Holmes has merely to send a tweet, to get instant news, and where the original version, could only wait on site at 221b Baker street for news the modern Sherlock could get news on the run straight to his smart phone.
It isn’t even the matter of fiction for if you follow your local police force they regularly tweet e-fits of suspects or of someone they need to identify or of a missing child and it can go viral minutes.
Social media at its best is a tool to value to communicate. With people who in some cases you may never meet or rarely at least. At its worst social media causes trouble and us the quickest form to start rumours and slander people.
If Sherlock Holmes had social media he would have cleared up the adventure of the Greek interpreter in minutes and Mr milas would never have been endangered. Holmes would also have the power of Google to instantly identify his suspects and be able to do background checks in seconds. Say of Stapleton upon realising the link to the Baskervilles.
I know of course that this has already occurred to the ardent Sherlock fans. But then had this power been available even Mycroft could have been a successful Sleuth. He would be able to do it from his chair at the Diogenes club.