Why the Media Loves Twitter
Lately, you can’t escape mentions of micro-blogging service Twitter in the media. Whether it’s reports of average people using the site, credit given for its role in the Iranian election protests, or documenting how Twitter’s business model may be better than Facebook’s, Twitter is all the rage. Here are some reasons why the media loves Twitter.
1. It’s fresh and new. New web technology often enjoys a honeymoon period with the media. Media gets plaudits for staying “up-to-date” and the website goes out of its way to promote itself with . We’ve seen similar bursts of interest for MySpace and Facebook, so it’s not unusual to see the same pattern for Twitter. Most interestingly, Google Trends for searches of Twitter and Facebook show that searches for Facebook have gone through the roof. Searches for Twitter have risen somewhat, but the line still looks flat compared to Facebook. That all changes for news references, however; in the news, Twitter’s mentions have risen as much as Facebook’s and have eclipsed Facebook in recent weeks.
2. It’s nearly entirely text-based. Because Twitter is driven by the words that people write, it’s easy to work into a news story. A site like Facebook, which offers a wide array of content, is more difficult to work into a news story. Similarly, videos on YouTube may work well with television news, but are nearly useless in print media. Photographs from Flickr might work well in print or online sources, but don’t come across as interesting on television or at all on radio. But Twitter can work in all these media.
3. It’s a textual sound-byte. There’s more words available for media to use than ever before. The internet has changed publishing as much as Gutenberg’s moveable type. But for many media sources, something like a blog post may simply be too long to report about. That’s why so many news sources will refer to “the blogosphere” rather than report on the specific work of one blogger. A trend is easier to spot and report than the specific arguments presented. But with Twitter, media outlets can report on trends and on specific micro-posts. It’s easy to put a few Twitter messages up on the television screen.
4. It’s a medium that media can use. Beyond natural self-promotion, media outlets can and do use Twitter. CNN broadcasts breaking news headlines over Twitter. It’s free, quick, and good publicity. When a media outlet gets behind a specific method of information distribution, their own promotion of the medium provides even more reason to include a “Twitter angle” in each story they publish. If this creates more interest in Twitter, then it once again provides media a reason to cover the “phenomenon.”
Will the media’s interest in Twitter wane in the coming months? I think it will slow long after people stop caring about Twitter; for the reasons above, the media can invest more time and interest in Twitter and reap greater rewards. Unlike sites like Facebook and MySpace, Twitter offers real potential value for media organizations, even if the site is used by very few people. The Google Trend numbers speak volumes: public interest in Twitter is minimal, media interest is huge. It’s unlikely that that will change any time soon.
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