more praise for Twitter

In "Twitter Shows Its Value As Iran Explodes" we see another example of how Twitter is a great place to get your news. Where CNN was lacking, Twitter allowed for Iranians to share what they were seeing as soon as they were seeing it. While MSNBC went about their usual routine, Twitter provided updates about the marches, beatings, and even gave us pictures and videos. Of course there is always a negative side, and with all of the retweets and seeing the same updates over and over again, you can't be sure who is actually reporting that news, but that is risk we have to be willing to take if we want our news as it is happening. I'm just glad that Twitter is being recognized just as much of a medium as cable, newspapers, and radio, because it sure is faster.

getting news first on Twitter

I was on Twitter yesterday morning and I happen to follow ThatKevinSmith, also known as Kevin Smith the famous director. I signed on and the only tweets I saw were his, curious as to why he was taking over my Twitter I read on. Through several posts, Kevin Smith ranted about how he was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight for being overweight. It was ridiculous, especially since he passed the so-called "arm rest test" and could fit just fine in the seat, even with the arm rests down. He got off the plane because they threatened to bring on security, but Smith was shocked and angry to say the least. Little did I know, this would be of national interest, and it was all over the Internet and had over 1,000 articles when you typed in his name on Google News. This was the top article today. Kevin Smith is demanding an apology on national TV and I think rightly so. He's going to sit in an airplane chair on the Daily Report and if he doesn't fit, he'll pay $10,000 to a charity that Southwest chooses. Twitter was how I got this story first, and this is a reason I love Twitter.