I have a confession, I am a Twitter addict and I need help. For the last 2 years I have strolled the timeline of my followers, tweet worthless updates, and wasted so much time I could have used to study, do homework, perhaps even start a multimillion dollar business.
But out of all the negatives I have found one thing on Twitter that may validate my time spent telling the world “I’m up eating cereal,” every morning. Many of the events of 2009 including the G-20 summit, North Korea nuclear testing, and the out break of swine flu was all were all introduced to me through Twitter.
As a matter of fact I still can remember the day the late Michael Jackson died. No job, or classes I climbed out of my bed and my first thought was Twitter. Strolling through my timeline I saw tweets of Michael Jackson’s death. My most natural instinct when hearing bad news was to call my mom. But after I asked her about it she didn’t know anything. I turned to CNN and they were only reporting that Michael Jackson was in the hospital. I figured to myself I have fallen for these Twitter lies once again! But sure enough hours later it was reported that Michael Jackson was indeed dead. After pulling myself together and watching the thriller video five times straight I thought to myself is Twitter the new news source?
I spend hours a day on Twitter and only spend about 5 minutes each morning on CNN. One of the main reasons why I tend to spend such a short time on CNN is because most of the stories that interest me most are buried in videos, advertising, and top stories. Although it’s important to know the top stories I wish to know the stories that interest my hobbies and interest. Twitter creates the perfect environment for news that interests me because I follow people who have the same interest as me. So when they post stories that are interesting to them, I take interest and read them.
I am obviously not the only person who thinks this way. A survey done by Mashable.com shows that of the 1,972 respondents 52.3% of them get there news from Twitter and only 21.7% get there news from newspapers. CNN has a Twitter and tweets about each news story they post on their website. The CNN twitter account now has over 3 million followers, which place them at number 14 of the most popular twitter accounts. The New York Times also has a twitter account and is at 25 with over 2 million followers.
Of course people who tweet should take News on twitter with a grain of salt. All news may not be true. We must remember that everyone on Twitter is not trustworthy and rumors can easily widespread to become a trending topic. In my opinion if Twitter can find a way to make certain news tweets verified like they do with celebrity accounts Twitter could easily become the news source for the 21st century.
Good afternoon,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Pitts opinion that if there were a way to verify certain news tweets twitter would definitely be the news source of the 21st century. However, i believe it would be popular first among the innovators and early adopters like Malcolm Gladwell lets us know in "The Tipping Point" innovators and early adopters are the first to switch over.I know i would be a part of that select few because i already use twitter as somewhat of a news source, however i go to more reputable sites to confirm the news i hear on twitter.
I must have been under a rock because I did not know you can get your news from Twitter. I'm assuming this happens when you put the "#" in front of a topic? Once I deleted my Twitter account I didn't look about (although in my opinion it's better than Facebook). However your post reminds me about the importance of the reputable gatekeeper. I remember vividly I was at work and my customer told me Michael Jackson was in the hospital and it was looking bad. I went to the bartender and told her to turn it to CNN (my personal most trusted news source). In a matter of seconds everyone was glued to the television screen. My manager made it his personal business to get my attention and say, "you know Michael Jackson died" information he had received from Fox News. I disputed the claim until CNN had reported it accurate. It was not until almost 20 minutes later UCLA officially announced the pop star's death. As Jay-Z would say, "believe half of what you see none of what you hear" unless of course the its the reputable gatekeeper.
ReplyDeleteI really can't get with the Twitter thing. I know that it's the new huge social media craze but it really does't intregue me. No offense anyone, but i can care less if your eating cereal or about to take a nap. I definitley see its relevence from a PR standpoint but,from a social standpoint, it does not pique my intrest. If I want news, I go to CNN. I prefer not to have to hear something on a social network then verify it from another medium. Conversely, if I wanted to start an infections buzz about an event or product, Twitter is the way to go.
ReplyDeleteSo since you've been on twitter for a long time...how was twitter before it became real popular??
ReplyDeleteI can't say that I am into twitter all that much. I may look at the site but, I don't even have an account. I should get one. Maybe it would be could be fun to see what others are thinking about on a regular basis. I just hope I don't become a twitter addict. This computer application serves as an up to the minute review on what people think about any given subject. This would be good for individuals trying to measure the public view of their client or company.
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