Note: This is the third entry of a 400-part series about my personal journey toward becoming one with the Internet. To read more about my New Year’s resolution, click here.
On the surface, Twitter is a simple, unassuming page. 140 characters or less … what’s not to get? But I really had no idea of Twitter’s potential until I downloaded TweetDeck earlier today.
Yes, I know I’m a little late to the party, considering the application has been downloaded more than 10 million times, according to Erick Schonfeld of TechCrunch.com. But there’s a lot more spiked punch to drink. TweetDeck just released an updated version, dubbed v0.32, that includes new features.
Anyway, I love having access to updates from Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn in a single desktop application. Incoming status updates, as well as Twitter lists and filtered search results, are spread across multiple columns you create. And you don’t have to look at the program to stay current on your friends or news — updates will pop up on the right corner of your screen only to fade away after 5 seconds. Best of all, these updates don’t disrupt you while you’re working in another program.
There’s great potential in using this in a newsroom setting. A news reporter in Kannapolis, N.C. could create a column to search for tweets pertaining to biotechnology or motorsports. Or a sports reporter in Los Angeles could quickly get a pulse on what Lakers fans are talking about today (like Ron Artest admitting he’s drank alcohol during halftime of games).
It would be in news organizations’ best interests to become advocates of Twitter in their communities, because you’re gaining valuable insight into how people digest and react to local news. Even if those reactions are irrational or barely scratch the surface of a complex issue, you’ll come out better equipped to ask questions readers/viewers/listeners want to know and anticipate potential holes in reporting.
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