Get the Latest Breaking News on . . . Twitter?

Poor weather man. Social media is taking over his job.

I’ve seen many articles lately about how social media has become an unlikely news source. Take for example the east coast earthquake that just occurred. Apparently Virginia residents began tweeting about the earthquake before it even had a chance to hit New York—leaving Twitter to claim it’s faster than an earthquake.

I can’t deny that my knowledge of major news stories occurring around the world have come directly from my friends’ Twitter and Facebook posts. I first learned that Osama Bin Laden and Michael Jackson had died from a Facebook post and heard about the Casey Anthony verdict on Twitter.

I think the reason that so many social media users immediately post on sites like Facebook and Twitter with news-worthy stories is because they simply want to be the first one among their friends to break the news. This way, they get all the shocked comments and get to enjoy the satisfaction of being the first one to report something big.

Here’s a few interesting articles I’ve seen lately on this topic:

East Coasters Turn to Twitter During Virginia Earthquake by Lauren Indvik

Timeline: How News of Osama Bin Laden’s Death Unfolded on Twitter by Brian Anthony Hernandez

Be sure to check out Voice of North America if you’re ready to grow your business and get noticed on search engines. Voice of North America allows you to blog in all 50 states about your business, product, services, or anything else you want to promote.