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Lists: The Latest Tool For Journalists On Twitter

Posted by Craig Kanalley | Posted in News, Tips | Posted on 16-10-2009

Comments

Twitter began rolling out its latest feature – “lists” – to select users this week, with plans to opening it up to everyone soon.

Earlier this month, journalism professor and mindcast-extraordinaire Jay Rosen had his followers scratching their heads when he made this prediction:

  1. Jay Rosen
    jayrosen_nyu You’ll find out yourself soon enough, but I’m telling you now. “Lists” are going to change Twitter http://jr.ly/4jm4 04 Oct 2009 from web

Shortly after, he followed up with this tweet:

  1. Jay Rosen
    jayrosen_nyu In reply to several of you, cannot say if it will be better or worse, but I can say: lists will change Twitter. In a sense, it’s up to us. 05 Oct 2009 from web

As one of the lucky “beta” testers of this new feature, and playing around with it for a few days, I can say with confidence that Rosen was absolutely right (as usual) in his prognosis. Lists are going to change Twitter – dramatically – and it is largely up to how we use them. For most of us, I say lists are “for the better.”

Here’s my initial impressions of Twitter lists, and why journalists should care about them, in just two days of trying them out:

  • Excellent for tracking news and breaking news feeds (this one I created includes 100 news feeds, screenshot below)
  • Efficient way to categorize sources/accounts by expertise or niche (@latimesnystrom does a good job of this, screenshot below)
  • Easy to set up and track several unique streams at once rather than just a single home stream
  • Allows for more opportunities of “discovery,” as well as networking and stumbling across interesting people
  • Ability to follow other lists (like the many offered by @Muckrack) helps find new Twitter users of interest to you
  • Creates an opportunity for newsrooms to create staff lists or useful local lists for readers/viewers to follow (see @PBS and @ColonelTribune)
  • One way for journalists to separate personal from professional interests on Twitter (lists can be set as public or private)

These are just a few observations but again Rosen was right on. This will change Twitter. And for journalists, lists will become just one more tool in the arsenal for tracking breaking news, collecting story tips, networking with others, and compiling useful information in an ever-cluttered 24/7 Twitter stream.

Screenshots:
Picture 5
Picture 3

  • Hilda_dada
    I am to submit a report on this niche your post has been very very helpfull  recoil springs
  • petehenderson
    The only way to track journalists is via www.indigotracker.com. So Simple all you need is a blackberry.

  • kinda with julie on this one: but the ability to create lists combined with the other great features is why I use a third party client (in my case tweetdeck) over the twitter interface. that interface has come a long way this year, but I going to need lists to do more than advertised thus far to switch...
  • Actually, they will... There is another element of Twitter lists which is not public yet but will be an invaluable feature for journalists. No other service, Tweetdeck or Hootsuite, can do what this feature does. You'll see soon enough! I've been asked to keep quiet on it for now.
  • Lists haven't shown up in my Twitter accounts yet, but the concept is why I use HootSuite: you can create columns that perform the same duty as lists plus you can monitor multiple Twitter accounts from the same page.
  • ckanal
    Yep, I use HootSuite too, Julie. But I'm not sure I will much anymore. Besides the ability to have multiple accounts, Twitter's new Lists feature makes it much easier to track groups and cycle through them (and the fact you can follow other people's groups too is huge).
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