I am sure I am not the first to say I don’t like Twitter. I
don’t understand hashtags, I don’t understand tagging people, and above all, I
don’t understand why people need to update the Twitter-sphere in 140 characters
or less. However in my first tutorial in Online Journalism, I began to
appreciate the value of Twitter, along with other types of social media, in a
news environment.
As
Dave Earley
stated on Friday, the readership of print media is decreasing due to the ease
of accessing news online. News is becoming increasingly social, local and of
course mobile, with smart phones and tablets allowing readers to access news at
their convenience. Earley quoted a statistic saying that phone and tablet use
has led to a 42% increase in web news traffic.
Personally, I find it much easier to look up news on my
iPhone or computer rather than buying a newspaper. As a student, I rarely buy a
newspaper as it is another unnecessary expense. After some research of my own,
I have decided upon three key strengths of social media broadcasting the news,
allowing it to have the upper hand over print media.
1. Social media is always first.
Popular sites including Facebook and Twitter can reach an
enormous audience instantaneously. For example, take the moment when Lauren
Jackson was announced as the flag bearer for Australia for the Olympics opening
ceremony. The announcement was made early in the morning on 27 July, meaning it
had missed the deadline for the morning newspapers. Journalists attending the
function were able to post tweets seconds after the announcement was made,
informing millions of people worldwide.
2. Social media has the ability to attract an audience that may
otherwise not be reached.
Earley discussed how social media has the potential to be a
large driver of readers to news websites. Links, photographs, witty headlines
and more can be used to direct readers to a more in-depth story published by a
news organisation. This links directly to my third point:
3. Social media can be used for self-promotion.
There’s nothing wrong with a bit of self-promotion!
News.com.au
is a great example of an organisation that utilises social media to promote
stories as they are published. Headlines and links are published on various
social media outlets, directing their audience to the full story on their
website. This is certainly one aspect of social media that I will be taking
advantage of as an emerging journalist!
While the Twitter-sphere may be filled with tweets about what
people are having for lunch or celebrity gossip, I am beginning to understand
why it is time to wholeheartedly embrace social media. In a world where we are
slowly losing readership of print media, it is vital to make the change to
digital and social media in order to thrive in such a competitive environment.
As the semester continues I hope that I can finally get a grasp on hash tags,
tweeting and tagging and learn how to use it to my advantage.
In the meantime, head over to my
Twitter to see
how I’m coping with new technology!