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Last week, it seems like Twitter finally hit the Washington press on the head with an anvil and they all finally got with it. Why most journalists are so far behind the curve is kind of mystifying to me. Millions of normal people use Twitter everyday, but when you look up major journalists on Twitter the vast majority of them don’t *get* it.
Just look at Anderson Cooper or Gawker or CNN. This is not how you use Twitter. These guys follow no one, and only post a stream of posts from Twitterfeed trying to get you to their blogs or websites. That’s not the point of Twitter. If you’re going to do that, why bother?
Recently, this is a topic I’ve seen discussed in other places. Luke Russert didn’t have a Twitter account even though he is supposed to be covering youth issues. And then last week I noticed an interesting trend…journalists started to get it. Russert started his own account. George Stephanopoulos, whose Twitter account previously until February 18th was just a stream of ads for his blog, suddenly started posting updates like a real person. David Gregory and Mike Allen both joined Twitter and started posting real updates, and both garnered a huge following within days. Gregory even went so far as to start his own TypePad blog.
There are some journalists who have been getting it for a long time: Ana Marie Cox, or John Byrne, CEO of Business Week, John Dickerson of Slate, and of course, Rick Sanchez and Don Lemon of CNN. All of these journalists use Twitter to post real updates, information, and insight, and they genuinely interact with people and gather information, rather than simply using Twitter as a self-promotion tool. They connect — which is the point.
There are some great ways Twitter can be used to improve and complement serious journalism — it’s not just a frivolous tool for posting where you’re going every second of the day or what you had for lunch (NOONECARESABOUTYOURLUNCH.Why do I get so many tweets like that?) It’s a great way to discover breaking stories or find interview sources or simply step out from behind your byline, go where the readers are, and talk to them.
Social media is useless if you just use it as a one-way megaphone; it has to be a two-way conversation. I hope more journalists follow suit, because I have to wonder how accurately they can report on issues on behalf of the public if they’re missing a crucial opportunity to see what the public is talking about.
*This post itself was inspired by a Twitter conversation started by one of my favorite bloggers, Jaclyn Schiff. If you’re not already, follow me on Twitter. And Jaclyn!
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Comments
02.25.09
Ok, you've stated that some journalists are finally "getting it" about Twitter. Please tell me, what is "it" ? What does Twitter do?
Currently, I'm using Twitter as a way to reach out to my family members about the birth of our (my wife and my) first kid. This means, after the delivery, we can just sent a txt tweet, and bam, 43 relatives and friends will know without the hassle of email addresses, phone calls, etc. and we can focus on the new kid.
But, this is a temporary issue that will diminish in value (to people other than the new grandparents) as time goes by.
For instances like this, Twitter is great. What else can you use it for?
It seems like one have to belive they have something interesting to say, and that they themselves believe that what you have to say or offer is unique or valueable enough that other peolpe must want to know....all the time.
Again, for the occasional topic or issue, i get the concept of subject matter expertise, and sharing. It's just that Twitter seems more like a genearalist (and therefore less substantial) dive into communication.
If you (or anyone reading this) can explain the "it" more clearly, I'm all ears. Again, my big issue is that I can't see Twitter being sustainable because it's hard (if not impossible) to be that useful for an extended period of time with only 140 characters (ie: you can't compete with a blog for substance, and small, quick issues fade too fast). Capturing "the feeling of the moment" is nice, but not frequently useful in retrospect.
I hope this comes off as confused, but curious. It's not meant to denounce anyone who uses Twitter. I'm just confuzzled.
02.25.09
I definitely see why you're confused, and I think part of it is Twitter's fault for marketing themselves as a service that lets you updates friends and family by answering the question "What are you doing right now?" For journalists, and for many others on twitter, it's not just a tool for updating your friends and family about what you are up to, but has other uses as well -- using the hashtags and search functions can help journalists figure out what people are talking about and what matters to them. It's helpful for finding sources and story ideas, for reporters to talk to their readers and find out what they're thinking, get feedback on issues, etc. It's most useful when used conversationally, not just for updates. Some reporters use it to get interview question ideas from readers.
I particularly like this article about how one major tech website uses twitter for journalism: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/twitter_for_journalists.php
02.25.09
Wow. That makes dramatically more sense. Thank you. The link was excellent in explaining the value it has to journalism.
I guess the "updating every single facet of my life, even the mundane" element was just the way that Twitter introduced itself, and now the innovators are finding more practical uses and building their communities/professions around it. It sounds like Twitter really has a critical mass of people to get certain things done now.
Again, thanks for the clarification, and taking the time to help me through the confusion. Twitter has puzzled me for a while, but now I can see how it can be used in a practical way. (but, I still plan on using it to update the grandparents-to-be and other family/friends for the baby)
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