Twitter: Taming the Firehose

Full essay

Twitter: Taming the firehose

Andria Krewson

Akrewson45c@mac.com

Certificate in Technology and Communication program,

School of Journalism and Mass Communication,

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

May 3, 2009

About the Author

Andria Krewson, a journalist with more than 25 years of news experience in Georgia, Florida and primarily North Carolina, is a student in the Certificate in Technology and Communications program in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In her journalism career, she has focused on design; learning, teaching and supporting new technologies, especially content management systems; producing local, focused information in niche publications; and managing creative workers. She has been on Twitter as the user @underoak since February 2008, and also as @akrewson since September 2008. She expects to complete the UNC technology program in May 2009. Reach her at akrewson45c@mac.com

UNC Honor Code: "I have neither given nor received unauthorized assistance while preparing this assignment and I have written the code myself."

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit here.

Brief abstract

Twitter, the short-message service started in March 2006, has a reputation for being filled with irrelevant noise. But new users continue to stream onto the service, particularly since the talk-show host Oprah joined in March 2009. The service is used by a chat room for some and as a wire service for others, bringing access to the sharing and reading of breaking news to anyone with an Internet connection.

With increased volume comes increased noise and competition for scarce attention. To be heard, news organizations need to use the service strategically.

Based on reviews of available online resources focusing on technology and marketing, plus snapshots and study of data available from within Twitter and from others studying Twitter, this paper focuses on potential ways that traditional media companies can adapt and use the service well. By focusing on the natural Twitter news cycle and using filtering and data-mining techniques, media companies can refine and protect their brands.

Introduction

Twitter, the short-message service started in March 2006, has exploded in popularity and media buzz in the past few months,