Commentary: How Twitter poses a threat to newspapers | McClatchy

Got this story from Twitter.

Commentary: How Twitter poses a threat to newspapers | McClatchy: "The end began in January 1998, when Matt Drudge broke the story on his blog that linked President Clinton amorously to a young White House intern.

At least that's how his scoop is remembered, as a signature moment in the growing dominance of online news. Except that's not what happened.

Drudge didn't break the intern story because he didn't have it. What he reported was that Newsweek magazine had the story but wouldn't publish it.

Evidently somebody at Newsweek was fed up with the magazine's reluctance and told Drudge. I think that was the first time a major story went public after being back-channeled from reporters at a mainstream news organization to an unaffiliated website.

What Drudge's scoop really exemplified was the declining ability of news managers to control their staffs' access to the public. Today, 11 years later, thanks to the Internet most every journalist here can reach independently an audience immeasurably greater than the star reporter on the biggest newspaper or top-rated newscast could a generation ago.

Now the traditional news business is built, one way or another, on a promise of exclusivity: What we've got you won't get elsewhere. So the idea that a media company's biggest threat may come from its own newsroom is hard for news managers to swallow."

The Sterling Cross Group

I got this message. "Hi this is an automatic email from TwitterMail with some new replies: @digitalvillages social media is perfect for reaching niches, especially in the medical industries! You'd be surprised by the people on sm! MrChristopherL at 17-01-2009 18:41."

Learned about The Sterling Cross Group. The lesson is, we need to learn to talk with the audience. Writing and attracting readers isn't enough. Social Media should lead to a conversation.

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If you don’t “get” Facebook and Twitter, read this NY Times article « Lightspeed Venture Partners Blog

If you don’t “get” Facebook and Twitter, read this NY Times article « Lightspeed Venture Partners Blog: "In essence, Facebook users didn’t think they wanted constant, up-to-the-minute updates on what other people are doing. Yet when they experienced this sort of omnipresent knowledge, they found it intriguing and addictive. Why?

Social scientists have a name for this sort of incessant online contact. They call it “ambient awareness.” It is, they say, very much like being physically near someone and picking up on his mood through the little things he does — body language, sighs, stray comments — out of the corner of your eye."

Helge: I agree about the "ambient awareness". People I follow on Jaiku, Twitter, Facebook, Friendfeed, and Pownce are somewhat closer than those who write long and informative stories and posts on their blogs. I got the link to this story from Robert Scobleizer over Twitter. We're not real world friends but I follow what he does and writes, look at his videos and webcasts.

Breaking News with Text Messages

"TextMarks will announce a new product tomorrow that allows publishers to charge people to receive breaking news and other information via text messages. It’s available now under a new “monetize” tab on the home page of the site." Writes TechCrunch.