Tweeting the Revolution

Andy Carvin, the social media director for NPR, became the go to guy (or twitter user in this case) for information regarding the revolution in the Middle East. Social media, specifically Twitter, was an enormous part of beginning the revolution and continues to be a big part of reporting on it. The Business Journal offers Five Media Goals Learned From Tweeting the Revolution.

1. Personality

Having your own personality is important when you're reporting on the news. If there were only one type of news broadcaster and writer, there wouldn't be so many news stations and newspapers. Twitter is a difficult platform to express personality in, but finding a way to do that can make your news tweets some of the best. Share knowledge and don't be afraid to ask question.

2. Accountability

Being responsible for what you tweet and share with the world is an important staple in journalism. Always always always check your facts and your spelling. Don't retweet without checking others facts. Verify your sources and don't be unwilling to admit when you've made a mistake.

3.Transparency

"Transparency goes hand-in-hand with accountability" writes Rebekah Monson, author of the article. As a writer you're going to get thrown a lot of links to share. Be honest when you share them, say what you really think about the links. Don't be afraid to set your own standards and stick to them.

4. Context

Context is a very important part of the news that sometimes gets lost in small articles and 30 second news coverage, and especially in 140 characters or less on Twitter. Clarifying context is important in Twitter and other news sources. Twitter can be very helpful in this through the use of hash tagging, geo-tagging, the chronological order of posts and the sortable archives.

5. Immediacy

With the constant streaming of Twitter feeds, being the first is very important. If you want your message to be heard, you have to get it out there quickly but also accurately. Also, keep updating on a story as it develops. Don't leave your followers hanging and ready to switch to a more reliably updated source.

These tips are important to Journalist who want to use Twitter and other social media as a large part of their career. Keep these in mind the next time you log on fellow tweeters and bloggers.