Getting Twitter to tell the tale

Social media offers instant news platforms

• By Douglas Okasaki Designer
• Published: 11:43 December 26, 2012
• 

  There has been nothing like social media to transform anyone into an information provider. In fact, since Twitter, some of the most important news breaks were reported first by citizens and then picked up by news media.
  Paul Lewis is an award-winning journalist from The Guardian. He was ‘Reporter of the Year’ at the British Press Awards 2010 and won the 2009 Bevins Prize for outstanding investigative journalism. One of the reasons for his success is the fact he uses Twitter as a tool to get deeper into the news story.
  People on the spot are already doing journalism without noticing it. Lewis cites the classic instance of Shoaib — the man in Abbottabad, Pakistan — who put up Twitter feeds just as the assassination of Osama Bin Laden was unfolding. “Uh, oh, now I’m the guy who liveblogged the Osama raid without knowing it,” tweeted Athar.
  Another instance of the power of social media and citizen journalism was in evidence after protests rocked London during the 2009 G20 summit and where a man died, The deceased, Ian Tomlinson, according to a police statement, had no contact with officers before his death. This was the story uniformly put out by the British press. Lewis, however, used Twitter to search for more information that lead to the death.

  A video shot by a man from New York — who was participating in a congress in London at the same time — shows Tomlinson was attacked from behind and thrown to the ground by a police officer in riot gear. Moments later, he suffered a heart attack and died.

  In this case, Twitter was an efficient tool to reach out to people who might have been there at the time and then get them to share information to help find the right answers.

  The 2011 London riots were the first major news event to be reported via Twitter feeds. There can be no doubt that the micro-blogging site helped to cover simultaneous events amidst the large scale rioting across the city. People collaborated by feeding out useful information.

  When the question comes to how one can distinguish what is true and what’s fiction in the Twitter world, Lewis believes the answer will also come from it. Users by sharing information will discover if it is true or not. At the end truth always wins; that is what is most fascinating about Twitter.

  “People are doing journalism, taking the story, digesting it and deciphering by themselves” says Paul.

  BRIEFS

  Burger chain comes in new wrapping

  The Brazilian operations of the fast-food operator Bob’s decided to innovate and develop edible packaging. The test was a success with patrons and none of the edibles ended up in the trash.

  The company released a teaser on its Facebook fan page through a video that showed the reaction of consumers when told they could ingest the packages which have a texture quite similar to the original.

  Sites like The Huffington Post and AdWeek picked up the story and put out that the chain was about to launch a snack pack which could be consumed.

  (Source:PSFK)

  Internet ads sustain momentum

  The overall ad business has had a shaky year, but the digital side of it continues to grow. The lastest estimate from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers pegs digital spend at $9.3 billion in the third quarter, up 18 per cent from the previous year.

  “Clearly, digital advertising is continuing its positive trajectory with incredible momentum as it heads into seasonally strong Q4,” said David Silverman, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

  (Source: Ad Age)

  http://gulfnews.com/business/media-marketing/getting-twitter-to-tell-the-tale-1.1123763