Brokaw: ‘I Don’t Get Twitter…Just Stuff That Fills Air’

I read an interesting PoynterOnline blog post today about Tom Brokaw, former anchor of "NBC Nightly News." Apparently, Brokaw doesn't get Twitter and isn't interested in trying it out. "As for Twitter? He doesn't believe it's taken form yet journalistically. 'I don't get Twitter,' Brokaw said. 'I know that it's very popular and that it's a quick way of getting a text blast out, so to speak, but an awful lot of it seems to be ... just stuff that fills … [Read more...]

Mexican President Tweets Category 4 Hurricane Alert

In a sign of the (social media) times, Mexican President Felipe Calderon used Twitter this morning to warn his people that Hurricane Karl could hit Mexico as a Category 4. By mid-afternoon, his tweet had been quoted or mentioned in newspapers and radio and television stories around the world. "An alert for Hurricane Karl in the nation's central states," President Calderon's tweet said in Spanish. "[It] could convert to a Category 4. It will enter through Veracruz … [Read more...]

Video Clip of the Month: Conan’s YouTube Choice

My September 2010 video clip of the month features Conan O’Brien revealing the name of his new TBS series using a Sharpie and some white paper in a YouTube video. I picked the video because it shows how social media is changing the way major announcements are made. For most of the last century, major public statements were made through press releases and press conferences for the media. Today, press releases aren’t just for journalists anymore, and they are … [Read more...]