Emergence of Twitter

With the emergence of Twitter, a new, exciting way to track the everyday workings of the most complex to the most mundane is that much closer. In other words, Big Brother isn't far off. Initially, Twitter emerged as a key component for keeping up to date with the tech industry, as some of the major figures regularly updated their feeds (such as Digg founder and major tech media figure Kevin Rose or This Week in Tech's stalwart Leo Laporte). Yet, the more popular it has become, the more other industries has latched on, leading stars such as Britney Spears to join the Twitter revolution.

In the past few days, Twitter has been prominently featured in the news as the fallout of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai continues to be explored. The issues lend themselves to an interesting conversation as to what exactly Twitter is. This blog, which I had never encountered before, suggests that Twitter has emerged as a viable form of legit journalism, a place to go for news. He admits that the sources may not be completely reliable on first glance, but Ingram wisely points out why that doesn't necessarily differ from other, more established services:

"Does that make those reports invalid? No. Obviously, no one wants a loved one to be worried by false reports. But at the same time, chaotic situations result in poor information flow — even to the “professional” journalists who are working at the scene. First-hand and second-hand reports on Twitter are no worse. Should anyone take them as gospel, or the final version of the events? No. Obviously, at some point someone has to check the facts, confirm reports, analyze the outcome, and so on. News reporting and journalism are much more of a process than they are a discrete thing. But as I have tried to argue before, Twitter reports are a valuable “first draft of history,” and that is a pretty good definition of the news."

I've got to agree with him there. While Twitter may not be the be-all-end-all of news sources, but as a place to get breaking news, its invaluable. The tech industry has been connected into the feed for a good time now and its been the place to go for all your tech related breaking news. People can send out a quick tweet with some brief info before they write up a larger report. Sure, its got some issues with scaling, leading to some confusion and frustration with new users, but given the correct funding and attention, Twitter could continue to revolutionize the way we receive our news. I can't help but feel that the horrific events in Mumbai may be a key turning point in Twitter's story.