Journalists have been skeptical of Twitter entering their world, and for good reason. At first it may seem hard to use or scary to take advantage of. Research shows all the ways journalists have began to use Twitter and what they should be doing to utilize this resource that has been placed in their laps. The public’s knowledge is a valuable resource that writer’s are already using, and every journalist should join the movement to utilize it.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The first article I read was regarding Twitter and some of the positives and negatives that the site has to offer for journalists to use the public’s knowledge. It discusses all the ways it can help, or hurt, a career in journalism and PR.
What was astonishing was a study they did on Kim Kardashian’s followers that she has on Twitter. Researchers conducted a search that weeded out real and fake followers. “The site showed seven million or 38% of her followers were fake, and another six million were inactive accounts. Only 5.3 million, or 29%, were authentic.”
People today are so obsessed with their follower count is compared to others, but they fail to realize how it is not the quantity of follower that matters, it’s the quality, especially when it comes to Twitter.
Twitter is not like Facebook in the sense that when you tweet it is out there for the world to see. Facebook is more sharing with your close friends and family, but Twitter is for the world.
The World is Evolving
In my textbook it discussed how mobile journalism has gotten and how social media use has just skyrocketed since smartphones have become more popular. All a journalist needs when going to cove a story is their phone which is incredibly different then having to carry a video camera, stand, laptop, internet chip, batteries and chords, and mobile phone.
The Public’s Knowledge is VALUABLE
Contrary to many arguments I read today, an article was published titled, “10 ways Twitter is valuable to journalists” and it had all the ways journalists could utilize Twitter and the benefits of it since the world is evolving and Twitter is a popular media form.
Crowdsourcing which is a major tool used in journalism is popular on Twitter. It is also easy since it is online and simple to figure out. This is a great way to get information and feedback from the general public, who is the primary target audience for writers.
Coming up with a story and writing it is hard to do, and Twitter gives ideas for stories and sources to use to produce it. It is right at our fingertips and easy to access. The public’s knowledge is a key tool that journalists do not use to it’s fullest capacity.
Journalists should all keep an open mind when it comes to using Twitter. It is being used by hundreds of millions of people and will not be slowing down anytime soon.
Catherine's Take 