It's been well documented that Twittter has been first to hear of major news stories recently, plane crashes, Gaza updates and lots of entertainment news. Never ones to miss a technology opportunity, Sky News (whose TV channel is becoming more and more web based) have appointed a dedicated ‘Twitter Correspondent’ to scour Twitter for potentially breaking news stories. Tech Crunch has the full story today.
The Memo from Sky News:
THE POWER OF TWITTER: The Twitter phenomenon continues to explode. A phono with an eyewitness in Lahore yesterday came to us through Twitter. Last night’s breaking story on the death of a Briton in the Alps came to us from Twitter. The first phone on the Buffalo plane crash came from Twitter. The first photo of the Hudson River rescue came from Twitter. Convinced?
The Online team is using Ruth Barnett as a “Twitter correspondent” - scouring Twitter for stories and feeding back, giving Sky News a presence in the Twittersphere. If you don’t understand Twitter and would like a demonstration of its power as a newsgathering tool, the Grand Master of Twitter, Jon Gripton, is running a session in Meeting Room 5 next Tuesday at 1400.
Follow Sky News' Ruth Barnett on Twitter here.
Follow Thinkhouse on Twitter here.