Tonight, a lot of us who are regular users of the micro-messaging service Twitter witnessed something pretty amazing. A 7.8 magnitude struck China and the news unfolded before our eyes on Twitter. Before it was on CNN, before MSNBC, before the BBC, even before the United States Geological Survey (which handles earthquake data) had the information, Twitter was on it. How? Its users.
While the mainstream media scrambled to put up their “breaking news” headlines, on Twitter we had pictures, maps, videos all being sent in real-time.
Twitter first responder (and sometimes blogger), Robert Scoble was on the news into the early hours of the morning, transferring news from the 21,185 people he follows to the 23,200 people following him. In turn, many of those folks would re-tweet (the term used to describe a message being re-sent out) the news to their followers. Information spread like wildfire on the service.
A quick glance at the truly awesome Twitter search site Summize (pictured below) with a query of the term “earthquake” was even more interesting and informative.
We’ve seen this before. Last year, several smaller earthquakes were reported first on Twitter. The mainstream media largely ignored this fact, but it happened nonetheless. Now, with so many people thinking about Twitter valuations, and whining about Twitter not being mainstream, the service is starting to garner attention for the wrong reasons. At the end of the day, what difference does it make if it’s mainstream or not? It’s very useful for situations like this, and it’s actually helping people. We saw that during the San Diego fires last year as well.
Today’s event are already causing some in the mainstream media to reconsider their stances on the service. Rory Cellan-Jones with the BBC, writes today:
I was beginning to think Twitter - the micro-blogging service that’s all the rage amongst the technorati - was just another fad for people who want to share too much of their rather dull lives. Until this morning.
This event along with news such as the American student who was arrested in Egypt but set free thanks to Twitter, are propelling the service into the spotlight. Whether that in turn propels it into mainstream usage, we’ll see. But again, does that really matter? Twitter will continue to be useful with or without the approval of the masses.
You can find me on Twitter here along with fellow VentureBeat writers Eric Eldon, Dean Takahashi, Anthony Ha and Chris Morrison. Oh, and we have a VentureBeat account (for our posts) as well.
Tags: co:Twitter
2:34 am
Twitter是否应该期待一次大灾难 : 北城风光 said:
[...] 援引venturebeat的消息，这次在中国西南发生的7.6级地震，Twitter又一次成为最快速最有效的传播途径。911事件中，切尼手中BlackBerry，就像指路明灯一样，照亮了黑莓的未来。这样看来，Twitter是否该期待一次这样全球瞩目的灾害时间呢？ [...]
2:41 am
Smart Mobs » Blog Archive » China earthquake said:
[...] Young Dutch Twitterer CasperOdJ reporting live from Chengdu China on todays earthquake, says VentureBeat [...]
3:25 am
Chengdu earthquake « Swibbles said:
[...] but in china, who can really tell one way or the other. seems to have created a big thing in the twitter scene tho. Posted in Fine Art of Swibble Repair [...]
5:51 am
rexblog.com: Rex Hammock’s weblog » Blog Archive » Twitter - a first-repsponder medium said:
[...] first responder medium in this tragedy is already being analyzed the technosphere (good examples: MG Siegler at VentureBeat, The Onlline Journalism Blog and the ubber-blogger/twitterer Robert Scoble) and even by some [...]
7:04 am
Another earthquake, another Twitter scoop : Twitter Gossip said:
[...] Once again, Twitter breaks news of an earthquake before the mainstream media. Last week it was the DC area tremor. This time it was the 7.8 magnitude quake that hit western China. According to Venture Beat: “Before it was on CNN, before MSNBC, before the BBC, even before the USGS (the United States Geological Survey, which handles earthquake data) had the information, Twitter was on it. … While the mainstream media scrambled to put up their ‘breaking news’ headlines, on Twitter we had pictures, maps, videos all being sent in real-time.” Read the story. [...]
8:16 am
Twitter: The first draft of history? » mathewingram.com/work | said:
[...] is able to supply all of those things — and it’s also self-directed. People can post messages about whatever they wish, [...]
8:18 am
Twitter: The first draft of history? - mathewingram.com/media said:
[...] is able to supply all of those things — and it’s also self-directed. People can post messages about whatever they wish, [...]
8:38 am
Un puissant seisme au centre de la Chine fait au moins 7650 morts at Everybody say hi Brice ! - From Beijing said:
[...] (si néanmoins ca vous intéresse vous pouvez toujours aller jeter un coup d’œil ici et [...]
1:21 pm
FreshNetworks Blog » Blog Archive » And you thought twitter was just a fad said:
[...] Twitter is first on the scene for a major earthquake - but who cares about that, is it mainstream ye… [...]
4:59 pm
Earthquake hits China. Twitter reports first. « Social Media Meanderings said:
[...] Twitter is first on the scene for a major earthquake - but who cares about that, is it mainstream ye… [...]
8:38 pm
The “Twitter ain’t all that” backlash » mathewingram.com/work | said:
[...] as “first responders” such as search & rescue personnel, which is what Eric seems concerned about. That’s ridiculous. But why shouldn’t we talk about how Twitter can be used to get [...]
8:57 am
Il Fastidio.com | Prove tecniche di disastro totale said:
[...] durante gli incendi in California nel 2007, la connettività mobile e Twitter si stanno rivelando potentissimi strumenti giornalistici per costruire e ricostruire scenari in tempo [...]
5:10 pm
Obligatory post about Twitter being down yet again » VentureBeat said:
[...] need to talk. I build you up with these post about how great you are in situations like the recent earthquake in China. I write long rants defending your value and eventual viability. And then you let me down — [...]
7:07 pm
Mainstream imminent? Twitter traffic almost doubled from February to April » VentureBeat said:
[...] argued that if current trends continue, this will come eventually (though I’ve also argued it doesn’t really matter for the service to be useful). Today, some data from Compete suggests the same [...]
5:33 pm
Richard.H’s Blog » Blog Archive » The Earthquake said:
[...] the earthquake from the Internet, you can see it here. It’s a hot topics in blogsphere that twitter became the first source to ‘report’ the earthquake. Although I didn’t get it from twitter’s updates, the Internet is still my main source [...]
7:01 pm
ireckon it’s Darryl’s blog: Web Development : Search Engine Optimisation : Web Marketing Brisbane Australia Blog : » twittering away said:
[...] a tool for users of a like mind, now it could be the tool helps to draw in like minds. See this Venturebeat article for an interesting view on whether Twitter is or cares about being [...]
6:11 am
Finally The News Media Wake Up To Twitter · ReporTwitters Blog said:
[...] an article assessing just how mainstream Twitter is, MG Siegler says “We’ve seen this before. [...]
2:35 pm
初生牛犊 » Blog Archive » BBC的采访 said:
[...] 联系我的MM叫Jemimah，是一个活跃的网民。我对“活跃网民”的大概定义就是一般twitter, Flickr 之类的玩具一个都不少用的人群。这是她的twitter。采访我的是 Mike Wooldridge，还有另外一位负责录影的工作人员。采访不是很长，大概10分钟左右。主要是问我在这次地震里网络对于发布最新消息起到了什么作用，对于一个在外的华人来说，网络对于了解最新消息的价值是否高于主流新闻媒体。自从 Robert Scoble 发布了那篇 twitter 是最先发出地震消息的文章之后，twitter在主流媒体里收到了很大的关注。采访中我也说了，这类媒体有着主流媒体不可代替的优势，那就是“公民即记者”的特点。就拿这次地震来说，没有一个记者能第一时间到达地震现场，那么在那里发出来的每一条消息都是宝贵的新闻，就算是一条简单的短息，也有着不可代替的新闻价值。 [...]
7:42 am
netzpolitik.org: » Nachrichtenüberblick China, Erdbeben in Sichuan, Twitter und die Medien » Aktuelle Berichterstattung rund um die politischen Themen der Informationsgesellschaft. said:
[...] Der Artikel enthält weitere Links, auch zu venturebeat.com. [...]
7:56 pm
Twitter isn’t failing on purpose, but it’s still failing » VentureBeat said:
[...] my annoyance with the service, I’m not ready to partake in a boycott just yet. I simply still find it too useful and I have a high tolerance for pain. (Its woes also give me something to write about, right?) [...]
1:08 am
The battle to fund Twitter » VentureBeat said:
[...] for weeks that the micro-messaging service Twitter was close to raising a new round of capital as interest around the site (and arguably the site itself) explodes. Tonight GigaOM’s Om Malik reports that the [...]
10:56 pm
The turnaround begins? Twitter gets its $15 million funding » VentureBeat said:
[...] now the repair and healing process can begin for the service, which, despite my criticisms, I still am very bullish on. //OBSTART:do_NOT_remove_this_comment var [...]
1:14 am
The next time you complain about a company on Twitter, Get Satisfaction may be listening » VentureBeat said:
[...] and tracking utility, to launch its new “Overheard” feature. (We previously pointed out how useful Summize was during the recent Chinese earthquake news that spread through [...]
7:56 am
Yee's Blog » Blog Archive » 地震报告与Twitter said:
[...] 汶川地层的乳胶漆,看得出是在旧房的基础上改造。由于刚搬进来没多久，我在小区进出的人流中显得陌生。楼房之间隔着四棵棕榈震，在欧美新闻界倒是捧红了Twitter，BBC还采访了在英国的洪峰。无独有偶，我最早得知地层的乳胶漆,看得出是在旧房的基础上改造。由于刚搬进来没多久，我在小区进出的人流中显得陌生。楼房之间隔着四棵棕榈震消息的也是通过twitter，不过当时并没有重视。 [...]
11:27 pm
The only thing Twitter has to fear, is Twitter itself » VentureBeat said:
[...] I said last week, despite Twitter’s issues, I have no plans on leaving the service, I still find it too useful. However, if Twitter is really unable to get its act together, others will start to leave. This [...]
8:18 pm
geological maps said:
[...] news??? headlines, on Twitter we had pictures, maps, videos all being sent in real-time. …http://venturebeat.com/2008/05/12/twitter-is-first-on-the-scene-for-a-major-earthquake-but-who-cares…Google to Launch ‘Google Ocean’! Google gave us in depth look of our planet through Google Earth, [...]
4:31 pm
A Twitter emergency broadcast system in the works » VentureBeat said:
[...] it is a very powerful communication tool when working properly. The Buck situation as well as the recent Chinese earthquake news is proof of [...]
12:52 pm
Twitter finally gets its new round of funding; “very strong” valuation » VentureBeat said:
[...] about its possibilities as a mass communication platform. We’ve its power in action during recent ecological disasters and even in times of personal peril, such as when an American was imprisoned in [...]
9:18 am
Supercharge your tweets with FatBird ; Its on Steroids. : Saving Someone’s Day said:
[...] now. There is certainly a media shift happened in last few months around twitter. We get to see breaking news on Twitter before A-listers of the media. Lot of mainstream bloggers using twitter more [...]
12:14 pm
SoCal earthquake a powerful reminder of Twitter’s potential » VentureBeat said:
[...] want information ASAP. Twitter is simply very fast at disseminating information. We saw this when a large 7.8 earthquake struck China back in May and we’re seeing it again today. This is especially true when used in conjunction with a site [...]
6:56 pm
Twitter Faster than Reality | Nate Koechley's Blog said:
[...] Twitter routinely breaks news fastest is often discussed, notably in the wake of the May quake in [...]