It Must Be A Slow News Day When A Twit(terer) With A Black Eye Makes Headlines

I woke up this morning to a news story about a British twit twitterer who was jogging and tweeting at the same time and ran into a low lying tree branch.

This is supposed to be newsworthy all the way across the pond? Should I be questioning why this trivial accident became a major news story? Or should I be questioning just how powerful Twitter really is? Which part of this story is really newsworthy?

The unfortunate black eye from making contact with an unbending stationary object or the capability of Twitter to spread the story like wildfire? Yes, my bets are on Twitter. I think this Twitter story is going to grab people who view Twitter with 2 different trains of thought.

The Twitter haters/bashers will laugh and say it served him right. (whether they understand the micro-blogging platform or not). The Twitter users/lovers will view this media blitz as proof that Twitter is working the way it is supposed to.

It's kind of like the old face to face social networking where you told 10, they told 10, and on and on. Now with Twitter retweets, thousands became aware of this sorry occurence immediately, before the shiner even started to turn colour.

For Twitter followers, or those still teetering on the fence, just think about it. If one person can get a newsworthy (still questionable) item onto the information highway that quickly, then the opportunity is there for everyone else.

Each of us use Twitter for various different reasons. Some for staying in touch, others for making business contacts and also for promoting our businesses. It's a big world out there and if this tool can be used as a tool with benefits, I think that's a good thing.

Just remember, like any social networking platform, there are certain rules and considerations to observe and follow. I will share some in my next blog post.

Until then, watch out for low lying tree branches - You don't have to be a tweeting to be a twit.