This is just the greatest story about social media used for doing good EVER. A University of Georgia student was in bed when masked men invaded his home and tied up his 17-year-old sister and his grandmother.

The student wakes up and probably heard yelling and realized what was happening; apparently he didn’t have his phone so he took his laptop and hid in the attic. He logged into Facebook and wrote as a status message “someone please call 911, no phone, hiding in my house, robbery,”

CNN reports “His best friend called police, and sheriff’s deputies arrived, the men scattered as soon as police arrived. But they arrested one of the suspects while two, possibly three, others got away.

They quoted him as saying “Facebook was like the only thing where I knew I could reach someone instantly that was on chat.”

I’ve always recommended having a phone by the bed. I have both a land line and my mobile ALWAYS accessible by the bed.

If the home invaders bypass all the solid core doors and other layers of protection I have in place and for whatever reason my home security alarm is disabled (which isn’t very possible because it’s battery backed and wireless), or the dog doesn’t attack them and they cut the phone lines or simply take a phone off the hook, then my mobile is right there.

Long story short, have a mobile by the bed, or at least a laptop so you can post a status update that you’ve just been invaded by masked thugs. Unbelievable!

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing home invasions on the Gordon Elliot Show.