Say what you want about Perez Hilton, but I did hear the MJ story from him first, referencing TMZ ‘s homepage, that had the headlines “Michael Jackson is Dead” at 5:20pm.
Certainly some controversy of his initial tweets, those that I actually did not see until this posting on Mashable…
CNN TV did not confirm the death until after 7pm est. Not that twitter has to be used to get the information first, but I share this to show a time gap of twitter news and traditional sources.
Once an avid reader of the Wall Street Journal paper (gasp) edition, now I rely on most of my breaking news from my Twitter folks. My secondary news source would be from iphone apps such as the WSJ, Huffington Post and Bloomberg, however, I frequent the blog section the most on WSJ. A user of TweetDeck, I check out TwitScoop to see what is trending. A fair warning to those who are new to twitter… check out the consensus. When I saw “Patrick” “Swayze” “Actor””Dies” in large font, I checked out the chatter and looked again at TwitScoop a couple of moments later, low and behold there was also “not” “true” trending as well.
What I find truly remarkable is that with Twitter, my news sources are not from your traditional journalists. Jack Welch, ex CEO of GE and well known author, broke the news (for me that is) that Federer won the 2009 French Open.
Lance Armstrong tweeted that he felt bad for the fellow Austin Andy Roddick after the Men’s 2009 Final Wimbledon match. Last month when I had tickets to the US Open Golf Final Tournament, I woke up to pouring rain and wanted to know the status of the day. I logged on to twitter and see a tweet by player Ian Poulter:
“there is no chance of a finish today, too much rain forecast and that course cannot take any more rain. flippers and snorkels required”
OK, I get, and that was way before the US Open website posted a noon gate opening. Staying in the pajamas a bit longer.
Marketing folks who I follow provide me with the latest trends, poll results and hot articles that once I had to dig deep to find or wait once a month to receive my DMA Hardcopy (gasp again) journal. Twitter is 24/7, non-stop information. The good stuff is retweeted so it is hard to miss and the best stuff is certainly covered by Mashable.
In May, I attended the TWTRCON conference and one of the most memorable speakers was MC Hammer. Yes I was shocked as well, as the stellar line-up included Guy Kawasaki, Shel Israel author of Twitterville (who I did enjoy), and Laura Fitton from Pistachio Consulting. MC Hammer , with over 700,000 followers, can now voice his opinion without statements being misconstrued/misrepresented. “I have watched who I am in the magazines for 20 years, I don’t know that guy!” The authenticity of the account makes the story shine and followers wanting more.
Then there is the fun, unique stuff like following the Mac and Cheese review twitter account , We Heart Mac and Cheese. These two gals review mac and cheese dishes at local restaurants in Los Angeles, CA from a “foodie” perspective rather than the stiffness of a Zagats review. I tend to get very hungry when I look at the avatar, so another fair warning, you may want to pig out if you choose to follow.
I laugh at stunts like the CNN Breaking News Twitter account is racing against Ashton Kutcher for the most followers. That’s not the best of Twitter. To answer many of you who still ask “What do I need Twitter for?” it is an anomaly of sorts that gives you information when you want it from those who are not “The” source. Knowing Jack Welch likes Tennis enough to tweet about it, is totally cool to know. It gives me another perspective of Jack, as well as life itself.
Just as I was going to end this post, another breaking news for me..RIP Oscar Mayer
“His bologna had a first name. His bologna had a last name. So did he … Oscar G. Mayer .. has died https://bit.ly/QW6KE (via @dannysullivan )”
Danny Sullivan can certainly be considered the King of Search, a very well known SEO guy, not a “journey”
Breaking News….but who broke it? And the beat goes on…
Thank you to Hilary for inviting me as guest blogger, it is with great pleasure to be a contributor.
Please share your comments and personal experiences of twitter.
Follow Constance Korol on Twitter.
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Constance Korol is the Senior Marketing Manager for the Institute of Business Forecasting and Planning as well as writer for the blog “Twitter Coach.” She has 10 years experience in various marketing roles, with her latest emphasis in social media. Constance has a B.S. from Hofstra University and lives in Syosset, NY with her husband and two Jack Russells.
