Twittering the news Journalism or something like it in 140 characters or fewer
Twitter’s moment Mumbai terrorist attacks a breakthrough (Photo copyright © 2008 by Arun Shanbhag)
What is Twitter? Micro-blogging platform
What is Twitter? Micro-blogging platform Begun in October 2006
What is Twitter? Micro-blogging platform Begun in October 2006 Has an estimated 6 million users
What is Twitter? Micro-blogging platform Begun in October 2006 Has an estimated 6 million users Online at
Technology and the news With Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, the Web was a reporting tool for a small number of journalists
Technology and the news By the time of 9/11, the Web was well- established, but servers failed. Last TV-only news event
Technology and the news London subway attacks were documented by cell-phone photos
Technology and the news Protests in Burma (left) and Paris, coup in Thailand, Virginia Tech shootings and other events have all had a heavy citizen- journalism component
Twitter and Mumbai 80 posts every five seconds
What were people saying? Eyewitness accounts –“Mumbai terrorists are asking hotel reception for rooms of American citizens and holding them hostage on one floor”
What were people saying? Eyewitness accounts Pleas for assistance
What were people saying? Eyewitness accounts Pleas for assistance Requests from police to stop
What were people saying? Eyewitness accounts Pleas for assistance Requests from police to stop Rumors — death counts were wrong
Arun Shanbhag Professor at Harvard Medical School in Mumbai when terrorists attacked
Arun Shanbhag Professor at Harvard Medical School in Mumbai when terrorists attacked Posted reports to Twitter account Twitter account
Arun Shanbhag Professor at Harvard Medical School in Mumbai when terrorists attacked Posted reports to Twitter account Twitter account Posted photos to Flickr account Flickr account
Strengths and weaknesses Strengths –Immediacy, because you follow the story as it is happening
Strengths and weaknesses Strengths –Immediacy, because you follow the story as it is happening –Citizen voices supplement professional journalists
Strengths and weaknesses Strengths Weaknesses –Rumor-mongering: What is true?
Strengths and weaknesses Strengths Weaknesses –Rumor-mongering: What is true? –Torrent of information
Strengths and weaknesses Strengths Weaknesses –Rumor-mongering: What is true? –Torrent of information –Lack of context and meaning
Strengths and weaknesses Strengths Weaknesses Role for professional journalism –Curate, moderate and sift the conversation so that what’s true, interesting and useful rises to the top
An infamous moment Rocky Mountain News tweets funeral of 3-year-old
An infamous moment Rocky Mountain News tweets funeral of 3-year-old Why were observers so disgusted?
An infamous moment Rocky Mountain News tweets funeral of 3-year-old Why were observers so disgusted? Different from local television news?
Effective uses of Twitter Odd items with no other place to go
Effective uses of Twitter Odd items with no other place to go Rough draft of a news story
Ineffective uses of Twitter Posting hypes of what’s on your news organization’s Web site, like RSS
Some Twitter conventions Search with hash marks (#) –#mumbai –#redsox –#obama
Some Twitter conventions Search with hash marks (#) Identify other users with “at”
Some Twitter conventions Search with hash marks (#) Identify other users with “at” “Retweeting”
Some Twitter conventions Search with hash marks (#) Identify other users with “at” “Retweeting” TinyURL
Some notable Twitter feeds John Dickerson Ana Marie Cox Jay Rosen Howard Owens Ken George Dan Gillmor Fake Rahm Emanuel
Credits CNN.com New York Times MindyMcAdams.com Poynter.org