Lis White -Twitter

The problem with going to one of the best journalism schools in the country, is that there are a lot of people who gain sort of an elitist attitude about information forums. What is important, who is allowed to use these forums, etc. etc. The thing is Twitter was not made by journalists for journalists, and therefore it is open to whoever wants to use it. I'm not exactly an experienced twitter user, but I do have one and it appears to me that people have control over who they "follow." If you don't want to have to read something about someone who just updates their daily happenings, then don't follow them. If there are people whose hearts would be broken because you are not following their twitter, I have tried it and it takes about 5 seconds to scroll through the updated tweets, especially since they are only 140 characters or less. 

As journalists I think that it is important not to judge people on how they use whatever outlet they choose to use, but to embrace it. Twitter is changing how information is given to people in a way that fits the faster pace lifestyle more so then any other forum. Lets be honest, most people do not sit down for the 9 o'clock news and most people certainly don't set aside time to read the newspaper. I would guess that most people don't even make time to get their news online as so many claim to do. But twitter offers an interactive source, that does not take hours out of the day. It is wasted energy to get mad at what people write, instead use the opportunity to put things that you consider important out there. If it were only a site for journalists and for news the demographic would be small and it would not do any good. I feel like the goal, instead of trying to convert people to news snobbery, should be to get people to "follow" us and inform them to the best of our abilities. People need to realize that some of these people do not get any other news and that finally they might because they are simply making their daily routine public.

I also found this article about Twitter and advertising that is really interesting. Basically they are not even considering advertising as a source of income, which is uncommon for a site that wants to continue to be free for consumers. They are releasing tools and services as add ons for businesses and professionals that could be a source of income. Just thought it was interesting. Here's the link to the article. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/twitter-sees-tools-not-ads-as-revenue-1687429.html