Bloggers and Microbloggers

To be honest, I've had a difficult time adjusting to Twitter. Until recently, I've not been able to see the benefits and purpose of the site. While I'm still attempting to sort through it all, the terror attack in Mumbai last week has definitely provided me some insight into the effectiveness and influence sites such as Twitter have on world events. Especially when getting the news out.

After scrolling through many of the tweets last week focused on Mumbai, I saw how people were reporting what was going on faster than news networks around the world. Some people were complaining about cable broadcasting stations, one tweet, by Barbara Legge said "why is CNN the only cable news channel in the US broadcasting the Mumbai story; MSNBC is showing "Lock-up" & Fox has an O'Reilly re-run?" It was easy to see after scrolling through a page or two though, that some tweets were not factual or were reporting things that had happened much earlier and had already changed.

As soon as President-elect Obama had a statement about the attacks, the link was posted on Twitter. There were certain tweets providing phone numbers for relatives with family in Mumbai to call to report. The liscense plate number of the stolen jeep was was posted all over Twitter with the number to call police if someone saw it. This is such an advancement! Even reporters were tweeting, asking for people in Mumbai to contact them so that they could communicate with them using Skype. I think overall, the coverage by microbloggers and bloggers alike helped the situation.

There were a couple drawbacks, mostly sifting through the many condolances that did not provide any news. I found the condolances the most irritating on Twitter. I know people felt remorse for what was occurring, but I felt like it simply cluttered the real news and links that were tweeted, especially when it was only mentioned in passing after rambling on about their looking forward to turkey or Thanksgiving. I could see how the terrorists could use this information to their advantage, but would they have time to monitor the site while their plan is en route?
There has to be a better way to organize the influx of information that comes in when such an event happens.

I think this development of breaking news through blogs and microblogs will greatly affect journalism now and in the future. People no longer have to wait for the radio, scheduled news times on local stations, or for cable news to pick up breaking news. They can get it instantly on the web, provided by other people on the web. It provides the opportunity for so much more to be shared, instead of limiting the coverage to redundant cable news reporters.

Web a-twitter with terror attacks
Link discussing microblogger effects