Start Tweeting NOW!

Since I joined Twitter a few weeks ago I've been an all out supporter and endorser of the social media site. I've read and thought a lot about it and really understand and appreciate its usefulness. Last week, it pulled up BIG for my reporter and me.

My reporter was reporting for the 10pm show on a very controversial bill down on the capitol. It was stuck in the Senate and the senators weren't expected to get to it until late that night, very possibly after 10:00. She talked to a number of legislators about the bill gathering information and video. Meanwhile, back at the station I was monitoring Twitter while producing my newscast. A reporter for another news source, Missourinet, was sitting in the Senate chambers tweeting frequent updates. Each time a bill was voted on, the reporter tweeted about it, named the bill and the bill they were moving on to. Shortly after my reporter informed me she was heading back to the station to write and cut her story (seeing as how they weren't expected to get to it for a good long while still) a tweet came up on my list that they were moving on to House Bill 22. 'We're up!' I thought and called her and told her to get back down there. Luckily she hadn't gone far and she was able to get back there quickly. More luckily, we knew they were debating this bill FIVE HOURS early because of Twitter. Yes, a potential FIVE hour swing.

It gets way better. Later that evening back at the station we're looking over the script and simultaneously and continuously checking Twitter for updates--the bill was being filibustered. Wait, not anymore. Update script. Hang on.. bill passed! Now onto the House again. Update script. Woah.. still wait. The House quickly just passed it and it's onto the Governor for a signature. All of this happened over a very short period of time. As quickly as we could finish updating the script, it needed to be updated again. The bill was moving fats and the ONLY way we would have known this play-by-play, minute-by-minute movement was through Twitter. Call other sources to confirm the bill's status and clear up any loose ends and we're good to go. Yes, we could have found out all of these things through calling sources as well, but will they or even can they answer at that moment? What about as quickly as this was moving? Had we gotten this information later, everything would have been more rushed at the end. This was no doubt far easier and more convenient. We might not have had the true LATEST on that bill had it not been for Twitter.

Just the same, Twitter clarified the details of a vehicle incident on the interstate that afternoon causing lane closures. We heard about an incident and the general location but were fuzzy on the details. A quick check of Twitter pointed us to the exact mile marker and told us exactly what was going on. Again, thanks Twitter.

I'm a big fan. Twitter has extreme potential. It already is serving a great purpose as a great tool like in the situations I just named. But, the more people join, the better Twitter will be. I was sold on it after reading an article about a Denver TV station getting news tips from it "frequently" the news director said. Which makes sense. Because you can follow anyone and anyone can follow you. Ordinary people in the community are more likely to tweet a potential story/situation to a TV station than they are to call or even email them because it's just so much easier. Also, because you can follow anyone and see their updates, if you scroll through the tweets on your "wall"(? FB lingo?) you may find an intriguing observation some random person just made somewhere that catches your eye as news. You very well may have never caught that if not for Twitter and tweets.

It truly is the fastest way to get and spread information. For that reason I have become a huge recruiter for Twitter. I keep encouraging more friends and co-workers to get on and try it. I just got a friend of mine who is a meteorologist on it last night. Seeing as how if you follow a person, they generally follow you in return... if she starts following a lot of people in the community and they follow her in return, they will get her weather update tweets. If they get her weather news, they may very well rely on KOMU 8 for weather news more often if they do not already. And of course the more eyeballs on channel 8 or komu.com means more advertising dollars. It works the same way for news with my updates. I also suggested she follow weather agencies such as the National Weather Service. I was quite disappointed to find they do not have a twitter account .. yet. Has no one explained to them the usefulness? They could tweet weather updates faster than any other way they can get the information out. If they did that, meteorologists and other news folks can get that information and relay it on faster than, again, we would be able to any other way.

Great tool. I can't say enough good things about it. So, NWS.. what gives? Get with 2009 and start tweeting!