It is interesting that 30% of Americans get news from Facebook, in comparison to the 8% of users that receive news from Twitter. I was taken aback that the article said that Twitter users were also more educated and implied that they were more engaged. Despite my surprise, it does make sense that people who get news from Twitter are a little bit more engaged that those who receive news from other forms of social media. Personally, the social media platform that I most avidly use is Twitter and I feel more informed than I ever have in my life. I think Twitter is really good about giving real-time updates on the happening stories, and I enjoy links to interesting articles and think-pieces on current events.
We've talked about media fragmentation and how that has been a landmine in the journalism industry, but with Twitter I enjoy being able to get news from so many different sources—and thus, different perspectives—with the scroll of a thumb. What makes Twitter so unique as a news source is the way it disseminates information. Breaking news is never hard to find—even if you don't intentionally follow news sources, your timeline will likely be talking and retweeting about it—and updates are readily available, even after stories go off the major airwaves. Just today, I have been in tune with the outpouring of anger of Ray Rice's domestic violence video, and read a story about GoFundMe taking down an abortion fundraiser after a anti-choice protest while allowing dual-fundraisers for Ferguson police officer, Darren Wilson.
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