The sheer awesomeness of social media

I created a Twitter account in April, 2009, but I was the only person I knew with one, so I mainly followed news sources. My English class thought I was weird when I told them about my fascination with the new social medium, but I still hold it as my most powerful source of news.

One hot day in June I was on an assignment, photographing a swim meet at the country club, when my phone buzzed. Michael Jackson had been pronounced dead, according to CNN (@cnnbrk).

I wasn't shocked. I had been getting tweets about the pop idol's condition all day. No one else at the pool knew. My parents, who were at work didn't know. Neither did my 14-year-old sister nor her friends whom she texts constantly.

Thus, I got to inform them, because I was in the loop. I had the latest breaking news. I felt incredibly powerful that day.

Since then, CNN has provided me with countless tweets that have bolstered my feeling of power. But I've also started following other sources. The Daily Tar Heel, @dailytarheel, is one of the best sources for local and campus news. Their tweets and facebook posts are great sources and also point followers toward more information within the paper or online.

Last week I watched the Student Body President forum on the DTH's Web site, which cleared up a few of my questions and helped me form my opinion about the candidates. But it was a tweet that led me to the site.

Individuals are another great source of news via Twitter. I've heard about free pizza in the pit, a tree falling into a building, classes being cancelled and the Chapel Hill election results all from tweets by students, granted most of them are DTH employees.

By following elected officials on Twitter, people can also stay informed about town and state government without having to attend meetings or wading through lengthy articles that do not interest them. For many, 140 characters is all that is needed to be sufficiently informed of recent small changes. Links to longer articles are incredibly useful as well.

My 14-year-old sister doesn't use Twitter. She also knows nothing about politics, other than who won homecoming queen. I think she is missing out. Social media is the most efficient way to get news and I hope it continues to grow.