twitpic Tag

Austin Plane Crash Plays Out On Social Media

This morning, reports of a single-engin plane crashing into a building just north of Austin, Texas hit the airwaves and the web.  Local stations KXAN & KVUE in Austin had continuing live coverage of the crash with eyewitness reports.  And why eye-witness reports play a major part of how a story unfolds, social media users shared their views before any of the stations started covering the story. And as we have reported in the past, social media is changing the way we get our news.

While the story is still developing, here’s an overview of the story with how social media users have been reporting it. (more…)

iePlexus Social Media News Brief: Jan. 29, 2010

From Twitter users split on Apple’s new iPad, to which social media and search engine’s Kathy Griffin likes, this is a look at iePlexus’s Social Media News Brief. (more…)

Can Twitter Be The News?

A few weeks ago when I talked about the future of social media, one of the things I mentioned was how Twitter was going to become our news source.  Next month, five journalist are actually going to test out the method of only getting news from only Twitter and Facebook.  The “Behind Closed Doors on the Net” experiment’s goal is to see if the journalist can actually write articles based on facts mentioned on the social networks.  The only way to do that, is take away and block all other communication technologies.  That means no phone, radio, or clicking on links attached to the social networks. 

I’m looking forward to seeing how the journalist do in the experiment.  Can anyone really just get their news from Twitter and social media alone?  I say “Yes & No.”  I think Twitter is a great tool for overviews, and for discussion.  However some stories are best told by social media.  The Iran election from last summer is a great example.  Although journalist were banned from covering it, the citizens of country took our their cameras, and shared what was happening with the rest of the world.  While this was everyone’s only option to learn about developments, it opened the doors to citizen journalism, allowing anyone to tell a story, and in some cases, like this situation, made the story more real.  (more…)

Social Media & Breaking News

Social media sites have become an important tool for breaking news, many times breaking a story before the mainstream media picks it up.  Sites such as Twitter have also been important communication tools for those affected by the events as they unfold.

Yesterday, news about a shooting in Fort Hood, Texas, shocked the country and almost instantly became a trending topic on Twitter.  The massacre, which killed 12 and left 31 wounded, sparked interest and supporters from around the world — many of whom ended up  leaving comments on the Army’s social media sites.  The Facebook group “Prayers for Fort Hood” was started soon after word spread, and currently it has just more than 20,000 supporters.   The U.S. Army‘s Facebook page was also flooded with support and prayers from people around the world. As one person wrote, “My prayers go out to the family and friends of the fallen heroes. It’s time we remember to pray for all our soldiers regardless of where they are.”  (more…)