Social Media: Here to stay?
I’m still reeling over the sudden death of Michael Jackson yesterday, what I’m reeling over more than anything is the fact that I found out on Twitter. I refreshed my twitter page for, oh, about the 500th time, yesterday afternoon only to find several tweets about the death of MJ. I thought…what?? No. So I googled it.
The most recent news item that came up was about him being rushed to the hospital. I logged onto Facebook and saw several Facebook status updates about his death. About 15 minutes later a news story about his death finally popped up. I’m a journalism student, I’ve always believed in the power of the news and the media and I don’t think it’s replaceable, except maybe by something like Twitter? Twitter is a form of media, though, so maybe it’s just a TOOL that more journalists and news outlets need to be using to get their message across.
I honestly think Twitter is great, I used to think Facebook was great (and I still do for some things) but Twitter is truly amazing. I have stumbled on SO many great articles through people’s tweets and re-tweets. It’s an interesting phenomenon that I’m still learning about and working to utilize in more ways than just updating what I’m doing, though those kind of updates can be fun too!
Facebook, on the other hand, is a nice way to keep in touch with people but can be a little bit too immature for my taste lately. I HATE all the applications it has, and I also don’t like how seriously people take facebook “relationship statuses”, but it is a nice way to connect and communicate with old friends or friends that are far away.
What do you guys think about social media like Twitter and Facebook? Are they here to stay, or will they be replaced by something else in the future? Do you love facebook and/or twitter or hate it?
PS: Friend me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter
Also, in light of the fact that Michael Jackson passed away from a heart attack, I wanted to remind everyone that this Sunday I am running the Scotiabank half-marathon in Vancouver in support of the Heart & Stroke Foundation. Heart Disease is a HUGE problem in North America so please donate to the cause and support my run!
My goal was to raise $2,000 and so far I have raised $1,390 including my offline donations. Please go here and donate to this cause, it is a GREAT cause and every penny counts. Only $610 to go!
HELP ME REACH MY GOAL!!!!!
DONATE HERE
I just donated towards your cause, have an absolutely fantastic run this weekend! I’m so excited for you!!!!!!!!! Can’t wait to read the race report. Here’s my advice: Have fun! Don’t stress about time just have fun. If you put too much pressure on yourself you’re only going to be disappointed. Enjoy the run, enjoy the runners around you and enjoy the scenery… try to smile as much as possible! Especially when you cross that finish line! No one likes grumpy course shots! LOL!
GOOD LUCK!
the interesting thing about the whole Michael Jackson thing — E! had said he is dead when I was getting on the treadmill at 6 pm – EST. then I switched over to CNN which said that he had been taken to the hospital. there’s one problem with the whole thing, people were just reporting, they weren’t confirming or anything! i know it’s all about being the first person to report something, but CONFIRM and reconfirm please!!!
Best of luck on your half marathon!!!!!!
I do facebook, but haven’t made the leap to twitter yet… I feel like I’d have 2 followers! ha! Maybe it’s something I’ll do when I upgrade my phone to a blackberry later this summer.
As far as Facebook, I tend to avoid all the silly quizzes. Unless I am crazy bored at work and really want to know what musical instrument I am. And I no longer have a relationship status up anymore. I did when I was dating my last boyfriend and it was awful when we broke up & updated our statuses – I hate the broken heart icon w/ the ‘Lisa is no longer in a relationship’ that posts to everyone’s page. so unless I am engaged or married, my relationship status will NEVER be posted again!! ha!
Good luck w/ the fun this weekend. I echo Morgan’s comment – don’t get too caught up in your pace/time. Just enjoy yourself & focus on the money you are raising for such an important cause!!
I actually found out from a text sent by my mom, but then I checked twitter. The trending topics. Once it was confirmed there, I looked everywhere. Some were saying he was just in a coma. It’s odd the twitter had it before anything else. It’s where I found out about Farrah Fawcett dying as well.
i can’t get into twitter, and i also hateeeee the facebook applications. bejeweled blitz? what is that? i don’t have time to play mafia wars. fuggit about it. everything else about FB rules though.
I completely agree about how twitter is the more informative of the two and allows you to see snippets of info and gateways to other articles. After the news yesterday it was interesting to see twitter updates explode and the opinions formulate. Facebook is better for stalking ex boyfriends/guys I like though. Yeah, I went there.
I think twitter is a total blast. As for a news source, it’s awesome, but I always take news on twitter with a grain of salt. I still depend on the news giants for confirmation, becuase I know they will not post something if they don’t have good sources. Sometimes that means they’re slower, but it’s worth it for the reliability.
I was actually in the middle of interviewing someone over the phone when I found out about Michael Jackson. Literally, I was talking to a lady at the police department about a dance permit when in the middle of our conversation she said, “Do you know what they are saying about Michael Jackson?” I was pretty taken aback, didn’t quite understand what she said, so I was like “wha???” She repeated it and said, “He’s dead.” I was stunned, didn’t no if it was a joke at first, but then she said it was on TV. Then we went back to our interview! But as soon as I got off the phone I googled it too! I saw it on TMZ but I wanted a more reputable source so I went to CNN. At that time they were just reporting that he was in a coma. A couple minutes later I refreshed the page and it was saying he had died, based on other media outlets reports and that CNN had not confirmed the news itself. Anyways, all this to say that new media today is crazy! The way people get their news now is totally different than even a few years ago. I don’t think Twitter will replace other news media since posts are limited to a certain amount of words, but it is definitely a great tool for the public and journalists alike to get news tips and sometimes hear things first!
btw, I haven’t joined Twitter because I just don’t think I have the time to update it regularly! otherwise, I’d follow you.
I was actually in the middle of interviewing someone over the phone when I found out about Michael Jackson. Literally, I was talking to a lady at the police department about a dance permit when in the middle of our conversation she said, “Do you know what they are saying about Michael Jackson?” I was pretty taken aback, didn’t quite understand what she said, so I was like “wha???” She repeated it and said, “He’s dead.” I was stunned, didn’t no if it was a joke at first, but then she said it was on TV. Then we went back to our interview! But as soon as I got off the phone I googled it too! I saw it on TMZ but I wanted a more reputable source so I went to CNN. At that time they were just reporting that he was in a coma. A couple minutes later I refreshed the page and it was saying he had died, based on other media outlets reports and that CNN had not confirmed the news itself. Anyways, all this to say that new media today is crazy! The way people get their news now is totally different than even a few years ago. I don’t think Twitter will replace other news media since posts are limited to a certain amount of words and, like Ashley said, it is not as reliable, but it is definitely a great tool for the public and journalists alike to get news tips and sometimes hear things first!
btw, I haven’t joined Twitter because I just don’t think I have the time to update it regularly! otherwise, I’d follow you.
I love them both, but am definitely more addicted to Facebook. I go through phases with Twitter and will update constantly for a few days and then not update at all for a few days.
Yesterday was such a sad day, both Farrah Fawcett AND Michael Jackson. It’s just so sad. I was reading Us Weekly today and they had a little blurb about how she was going to marry her fiance soon so they could be married before she passed. So sad. My heart goes out to these families!
I drove home from work yesterday and noticed two Michael Jackson songs on the radio, but didn’t think anything of it. It was only when I logged onto facebook and saw my entire homepage filled with people posting about MJ that I knew.
I am technically on twitter, but I very rarely use it. I’ll normally log on once a month or so. If you’re curious my twitter name is shoshanahg (umm… at least I think that’s what it is. Shows how much I use it.)
I found about Michael Jackson first from the radio, then TMZ, then Twitter….but still nobody reputable was reporting he had died–CNN & MSN were just saying he was in a coma & in the hospital. Finally, they confirmed it around 5:20 my time, I believe. It is amazing how fast news travels these days. I have both Facebook and Twitter, and also MySpace and Plurk. I am kinda over MySpace (I am neither a tween nor have a band) and Plurk, which is much like Twitter, has very few users. I love Facebook for catching up with old friends and keeping in touch with people – the quizzes are silly, many of the applications drive me insane & I can’t keep up with all the invitations. I have Twitter and maybe updated it 3 or 4 times per day. I do think that Twitter and Facebook will probably in the future be replaced by the next big thing, something even more exciting. But I think social media is here to stay.
I got into facebook in college when it was just for college students and I really liked that aspect of it. I still don’t get how to really work LinkedIn. I’m getting the hang of twitter, but i’m sure I don’t always use it the way “it should be used”, but I think if you don’t do something social and something personal then what are you doing? You have to get your personality out there sometime. Social media may be the new thing, but I’m sure there will be some new wave in media in the future. Who knows what web 3.0 or 5.0 will look like.
I heard about Michael J in the car on the news channel 680 am, but they still hadn’t had a real confirmation, they heard he was dead or in a coma.
Marina and I were on the way to get slushies, we spotted a double rainbow, we had had a storm earlier…but I was thinking it was for Michael and Farrah! I was totally shocked.
I still turn to tv and news on tv for my media. Then I’ll check Twitter and then facebook. Good luck on your run today.
I don’t do Tweeter and Facebook for fear I might get addicted to them.
While they are great tools, I would not be surprised if something newer and better comes out.
Good luck on your run!
i was more shocked that my dad had already found out about his death only half an hour after it happened. my dad doesn’t watch the news, listen to the radio, or do anything even remotely social online, so i’m still confused as to how he found out. i now know we truly are in the age of information and technology thanks to my dad trying to inform ME that MJ AND farrah fawcett had died.
as for how long these things will last, well, myspace is already almost out of the game, and facebook is going to reach a plateau soon, if it hasn’t already. twitter, on the other hand, well…i’m actually kinda interested to see where it goes considering half the people i talk to about it have no idea what it’s good for and the other half can’t explain why they use it.
I don’t think I have time for Twitter
And I use facebook as a way to keep in touch with friends, and that’s about it!