That's a joke my friends and I have. If something is important enough these days, you don't watch CNN or go to the BBC website... You definitely don't read the newspaper. Jokingly, although sadly half-meant, we think that is something is newsworthy, it will trend on Twitter.While there are the usual nonsensical #hashtag trends as well as the occasional promoted topics, but for the most part, if it's one of the top trends on Twitter, it'll be the main headline on CNN.
Twitter has allowed anyone to express their opinions in 140 characters or less. I think the character limit is what makes Twitter very appealing to people. You don't have to write lengthy articles in a blog, and the complications of Facebook or Myspace don't come into play. Twitter is simple. You create an account and you post away, simple as that.
To be honest, I became aware of a lot of news items because of Twitter. Everything from the latest NBA trades to celebrity deaths (or hoax deaths), even the latest on the Middle Eastern protests, I've gotten from Twitter. I think it's a great resource and it's fun to use once you get familiar with all the features.
It's probably the most direct way to keep up to date with your favorite celebrities as well. I know some people say that they don't care what an actor ate for breakfast, but I've gotten free concert tickets from responding to a celebrity Tweet. Celebrities like Olivia Munn also keep close contact with their fans, usually inviting them to some event. Munn invited the first however-many followers to join her in ringing the closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange earlier today. I also mentioned in an earlier post how Twitter helped me launch a blog and get an endorsement from the owner of Liverpool Football Club.
I personally enjoy, like, and use Twitter regularly. I think it's an entertaining, and sometimes educational resource.
Marty, my friends and I do the same things with sports stories and the like. ESPN reports a trade? Yeah, yeah, we'll believe it when Ochocinco tweets about it.
ReplyDeleteYeah, same goes for the sport I follow, soccer.
ReplyDeleteIf you think rumours here in American sports are bad, imagine that multiplied by a thousand in Europe. Almost everyday there's a new transfer rumour, and it's helpful to follow players and journalists who work closely with the teams to know which rumours have substance.
So much news on ESPN comes form Twitter now, its crazy. In any given hour of SportCenter a few stories are sure to come from Twitter, and ESPN Radio is starting to revolve around Twitter. Its having a huge impact in how journalists for ESPN get their stories.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I know that as a Denver Broncos fan, any news coming out of Mile High I get from John Elway himself!
ReplyDeleteThe coaches were also tweeting from the Olympics, and we've had astronauts tweeting from space. And yes, it is one of the best ways to get breaking news. Someone once tweeted that twitter is a powerful social medium for communicating about the death of celebrities.
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