by Helium01

Created on: May 04, 2009

The most effective ways for journalists to use Twitter

Twitter is a social networking site in which users post "tweets" of information to share with those who are listening in. Twitter is not a form of journalism on its own but rather a conversation. It does, however, have a place in broadcasting and journalism as a form of communication.

Although some traditional journalists may dismiss Twitter because of the simple premise and the 140 character limit on "tweets", those who take the time to integrate Twitter into their thinking and work routine benefit in a variety of ways. Below are some of the most effective journalistic uses of Twitter.

Discover Breaking News

When earthquakes hit Mexico,
China and Japan, the first reports did not come from the government or leading news organizations. They came from Twitter users. Journalists receive breaking news reports on Twitter faster than from other sources because of how easy it is to post to the social network. This is a great way to learn of breaking news early and be the first to cover a story. In addition, the general public may "retweet" newsworthy posts of interest giving journalists story ideas that appeal to real people.

Interviewing

Twitter might be best known for its usefulness as a crowd source medium. "Crowd sourcing" refers to obtaining feedback from a large demographic on an issue. Twitter makes the "man-on-the street" interview possible on a large scale in a fraction of the time. Writing an article on diet tips? Post a "tweet" asking for dieting advice. Interviewing a celebrity? Ask for potential interview questions. Using Twitter in this manner gives you access to real people's opinions and ideas in a much more scaleable when than has previously been possible with telephone and email communication.

Quality Assurance

A simple journalistic use of Twitter is to receive feedback on your work. This can range from simple kudos for a job well done, to honest reviews about improvements that you need to make, or quick fixes such as typos or missing links for web publications.

Questions Answered

Have you ever wished you had an on-call expert that could help you with your work? Enter Twitter. By building a network of experts in your field on Twitter you have at your fingertips a wealth of knowledge in a variety of areas. Ask a technical or fact-based question and see if you can't get the answer that you are looking for quicker than you can look it up yourself.

Promotion

Obviously one of the primary motivations for using

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