Comments on: Don’t Hate On Twitter

By: L’Aquila Earthquake: From Online to On-the-Ground Response « NY ♥ NY

L’Aquila Earthquake: From Online to On-the-Ground Response « NY ♥ NY — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:37:23 +0000

[...] and Flickr in reporting past disasters (e.g. the earthquake in California this past summer, the Mumbai terrorist attacks, the airplane crashes in NY), local Italians were the first to break the news of the earthquake [...]

By: Steve A Furman

Steve A Furman — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 23:35:55 +0000

Hi Nina, Nice collection of opinions about Twitter. I wish that I had it when I was in school. Also happy to know that Marshall McLuhan is still alive and well. I write about him and parallels to the Internet here http://tinyurl.com/58m7ar.

Here’s why I’m on Twitter. http://tinyurl.com/6jcj7c
I don’t actually think it’s journalism. That’s too narrow a category. Twitter spans anything and everything the mind can imagine while its wired to the Internet.

Keep posting. I have followed you.

By: Why Twitter is Awesome | GAURAV SIKKA.COM

Why Twitter is Awesome | GAURAV SIKKA.COM — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 09:06:56 +0000

[...] reading Nina Yiamsamatha’s Don’t Hate on Twitter post recently, I struck upon an analogy that explains why I think Twitter is awesome. Remember [...]

By: Gaurav Sikka

Gaurav Sikka — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 05:47:54 +0000

Dear Nina:

Thanks for the feature! I’ve been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and prayers from across the globe over the past 5 days. I too keep encountering twitter haters who just don’t get but with more MSM coverage over time they’ll come around.

I agree that twitter/citizen journalism supplants MSM by giving the coverage a raw and personable feel. But, most importantly its speed of disseminating information can help save lives in disaster management situations before MSM begins reporting.

Even with the case of Mumbai, people got most value from my tweets on the first night of the siege, before MSM started reporting in the West and the twitter channel got flooded with limitless retweets and political/religious rants. Shel Israel made some interesting observations on his blog: http://redcouch.typepad.com/weblog/2008/11/mumbai-twitter.html

By: ninanyc

ninanyc — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 04:15:03 +0000

I agree with the limited functionality of Twitter. That’s why I think it’s only one form of journalism – the brief, citizen kind. After all, tweets wouldn’t be posted as rapidly if they weren’t limited to 140 characters.

As one type of news source, I’m talking about Twitter in that it is fundamentally defined by its communication model (i.e. What’re you doing?, 140 characters, replies to other users, etc.).

As for Facebook possibly buying Twitter, the talks are actually over (as I found out via people’s tweets last week, )
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2008/nov/24/facebook-twitter

By: Mattan Griffel

Mattan Griffel — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:48:03 +0000

I tend to agree with what you’re saying. Still, how do you account for it’s limited functionality? Not all news can be conveyed in 140 characters.

Also, are you talking about the Twitter communication model or Twitter itself? Twitter is in talks to get bought by facebook. How does that change your view?

By: ninanyc

ninanyc — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:25:58 +0000

Oh, I definitely still value primary sources – I like the feel of antiques and the smell of old books, and I would love to have a hardcopy of the NYT front page from November 5, 2008. But I wouldn’t count on those to give me the most up-to-date or fastest news. Both old media and new media interact and are interrelated, no matter how many times people claim one is better than the other.

By: SteveinNYC

SteveinNYC — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:15:34 +0000

I remember when primary sources were valued. How old fashioned. I guess first hand accounts of events via Twitter don’t count because people on Twitter aren’t real. Or something.