Even bad tweeters can’t deny impact of social media site on journalism

Some people have the personality and natural penchant to tweet. I don’t.

For some reason, spending a couple minutes of my time typing 140 characters feels like I’m pulling my own teeth. I just feel silly doing it. There’s plenty to talk about, sure. Most afternoons I’m writing at least a dozen inches of copy at my job. Something has to be interesting in there to plug in the Twitter machine, right?

Luckily, there are many other journalists and media members out there to do what I flat-out stink at. Like it or not, Twitter has become an important tool in the delivery of news.

All over the world, journalists break news and huge stories on Twitter. Some even provide a dose of much-needed entertainment or a quick laugh.

Twitter can be a great resource if you know who to follow and how to contribute to growing web of citizen journalists and standard professionals. Using the social media site, stories can take on a life of their own and grow exponentially in depth and scale as people contribute thoughts and bits of information.

Hashtags, searches and Twitter Lists allow the conversation to be joined by everyone, regardless of who follows.

We see it used to perfection during Arab Spring uprisings and protest movements. Many times Western journalists are barred from these countries, leaving the only resource for first-hand information in the hands of those citizens who are participating or watching the protests.

There are many ways Twitter can be effectively used by figures in the news industry, both during and after a story is published. People who are truly attempting to add to a conversation and inform help Twitter become an increasingly credible way to tell stories.