Every major event that I have wanted to know about this year has been more widely, more speedily, and more reliably reported by Twitter than the mainstream media. When the earthquakes hit Christchurch, it was through Twitter that I first got a clear picture of events - which suburbs were hit, the level of severity, and so on. And if a superstar does anything exciting, well it'll be all over Twitter like a rash within seconds.
Speed
News is tweeted within minutes or even seconds of an event, making Twitter faster than newspapers, radio and television by far.
Wide Coverage
So many people are Tweeting any given event that you will normally have many and varied viewpoints, making it possible to sift through and get a wider version of an event than mainstream media might give you. It might also allow readers to see opinions and ideas they hadn't considered and which other media might not report. Follow two or three media giants as well as smaller fry to get a wide coverage of views.
Multiple Viewpoints
As well as following those you respect and hold similar views to, it's worth following people you don't have common view with. Why? Well there are two excellent reasons:
- There is nothing more valuable that considering BOTH sides of an argument, and
- Knowing what your adversaries, opposition or competition are saying is invaluable.
Tracking Events - Hashtags
Hashtags are what people add to tweets to categorise them for easy searching. For example #Oscars or #Australia or #tsunami. If any big news hits, use the hashtag to track the latest. To do this just use the search box to get the latest, using whatever hashtag is being used by others. The busiest ones are listed on your twitter home page so you can always see what is trending, although these are often facetious and not altogether helpful for newshounds or businesses.
Now, make sure your Twitter account is open at all times and check it regularly - you will be amazed what you will learn.
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