Twitter as a reporting tool

Using Twitter as a reporting tool is a well-established practice -- and so much so that the Twitter folks themselves provide a "Twitter for Newsrooms" tutorial dedicated to serious journalists. But Twitter reporting can also benefit serious business owners who want to take a try at so-called "brand journalism."

 Twitter is a popular social networking application that allows members to tweet their thoughts in 140 characters or less. Twitter is a valuable tool for reporters because it allows them to quickly report the news as it is happening and inform the public with the most important information. Using twitter as a reporting tool is convenient and quick; therefore Journalists and reporters should familiarize themselves with it.

We all know how much of a growth curve Twitter has been on over the last couple of years and if there is one industry that has embraced it with great delight it is the various strands of the media industry. They’ve hyped it up and brought it to the masses, integrated it in to their media as well as relying on it for breaking stories and angles on news stories. Twitter has clearly changed the way that people consume news and how the news finds us.  It’s still something that is evolving as big media organizations relinquish some of the control they have had over the message for so long and the next couple of years will be an incredibly interesting time.

Cathy Mohlahlana’s tweets cover the Marikana event court case, from its initial stage up to the end. This is great because people are able to stay connected and in the know f what is happening in court before the news could go on any other form of media. Cathy’s tweets are short and straight to the point making it easy for all people to follow them.

Aki Anastasiou also gives us a depth of the event and his feelings on what happened in the mine, so does Karyn Maughan. They did a great job on informing the masses about what happened in the Lonmin and also in court and how the case ended. I personally think twitter is the future all Reporters should embrace it and use it as much as possible.