I just came across this article on the ways that journalists are starting to make use of Twitter (a microblogging tool) to be able to track breaking stories – and people’s reactions.
“How useful can communication limited to 140 characters be for serious journalism? It turns out that the short messages you find on Twitter have proven wildly useful for some writers penning larger pieces.
Here at ReadWriteWeb we’ve been leveraging Twitter heavily for some of our most important news writing. While cynics dismiss twitter as frivolous, we’ve got stories to share that should make anyone reconsider their doubts about the microblogging medium.”
Read the rest here.
Helen Mosher mentions over on the Lead today that a bunch of us on that editorial team are using Twitter as quick way to keep in touch with each other; and, more importantly, just the sort of way mentioned above.
But the problem is that there aren’t all that many Anglican/Episcopal types tweeting away for us to follow for reactions.
So if you’re interested in helping out, and you have a Twitter account, or a willing to set one up, use the link at the top of the right sidebar and give me a “follow”. I’ll add you in to the people I’m following.
Trust me, it’s much less “junior-high” than facebook, and has actually been a lifesaver for some.
Who owns Twitter?
This is important.
Who might own Twitter in the future?
This is even more important.
As far as I know Twitter is owned by a small start up company that is trying, at the moment, to raise its third round of start-up funding. I imagine their strategy is to get bought up by some larger corp once they’re reached critical mass.
But I don’t recognize why this is particularly important. What am I missing?