10 Pros And 10 Cons Of Twitter For Journalists
Posted by Craig Kanalley | Posted in Commentary | Posted on 27-06-2009
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Like anything, Twitter has its advantages and disadvantages. Whether you’re new to Twitter or not, it’s important you’re able to identify these and adjust to use Twitter in the best ways possible.
Here’s a list of pros and cons of the service, specifically with journalists in mind. Feel free to add to it by leaving a comment or replying to @TwitJourn.
Pros
- Instantaneous, “realtime”
- Potential to grow audience
- Many different voices and perspectives
- Worldwide use
- Tip service
- Eyewitness accounts
- Free to use
- Raw, no editing, no filters
- Democratizes the news
- Links for more information
Cons
- Verification issues
- Limiting – 140 characters at a time
- Not ubiquitous – technology issues for 3rd world countries/poor
- Rumors, misinformation, especially during breaking news
- Government censorship
- Means of propaganda
- Lack of analysis, deeper meaning
- Presence of spam, worm attacks
- Questions of accountability, intentions
- Squatters and fake accounts
Personally, I believe the pros far outweigh the cons. In response to the issue of verification, I recommend reading “How to verify a tweet.” I also elaborate on rumors and misinformation in “Lessons to be learned from Michael Jackson frenzy on Twitter.”
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