I’ve always been a bit of a Twitter hater. I had an account for a while but I eventually deleted it because I saw no point. My life just wasn’t interesting enough to send out rapid 140 character or less messages.
But it turns out Twitter can actually be pretty useful, especially for a journalist (thanks instructor Jessica Davis for enlightening me!). Those short, silly messages that aren’t really long enough to say anything substantial by themselves can bring traffic to your website by linking to longer articles in the tweet. Plus, if someone retweets (sends out the same message tweeted by another person to their different followers) then the traffic to your website can be substantial.
Even governments have their own Twitter accounts. For example, the city of Riverside has a Twitter account where they share breaking news and community events. They gain publicity and give journalists a source. If a reporter sees a breaking story on Twitter, they can get in contact with the tweeter and conduct an interview and write a story. Plus, you can even set to get these and other tweets sent directly to your phone just in case you’re not near a computer.
Technology is ever evolving and journalists need to be equipped to make sure they can keep their audiences during this revolution. Twitter is a tool that should be used.
I didn’t know Twitter had such a practical side. Keep up the great blogs! They’re informative and enjoyable to read. : )
That was quite insightful Mitchell keep up the good work
I also didn’t use twitter for a while but lately found it helpful in promoting ideas and my business . I also like the function of retweeting, since your tweet can suddenly be everywhere! Great Article and well written