Twice in the last few months the news has got out first through Twitter. Twitter in case you didn't already know is a micro-blogging service. (Humph what's that!)
First it was the terror strikes in Mumbai and then last week it was the Hudson River air crash in New York. A passer by took a picture on his iPhone and posted the image using Twitter on to an associated website (http://twitpic.com/135xa) and he got there way before the networks who were still up in their helicopters looking for the plane. The pic got some nearly 100,000 views within hours of the post.
So what does this say about Twitter, well some eminent journalists have likened it to a very cheap and not very reliable news agency but for me it has all sorts of other applications, for the most part keeping in touch and making connections... a member of the family on holiday comes to mind, student backpacking that sort of thing. All you need to do is let your mind wander and all sorts of other things seem possible... go on let your imagination run riot! Just imagine if someone took a few pics of Jean Charles de Menezes that fateful day in July 2005.
There's lots of software out there for PCs, Macs and smartphones and apparently you can even get involved using Facebook, SMS or Instant Messaging. The iPhone has lots of free client software but I have started using Tweetie today on the strength of the New York story break!
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