Social media plays major role again in breaking news

Posted by: Paul Matthews

In November last year, terrorists attacked a hotel in Mumbai generating huge offline and online coverage around the world. Social networks led the story and provided live commentary throughout the ordeal. I blogged about it at the time.

Today the major social networking application, Twitter, has broken the story on the appalling bombings that have killed at least nine people, including one New Zealander, in Jakarta. Photos of the destruction have been posted on all manner of photo-sharing sites such as Flickr, and updates continue to fly in on Twitter as the world tunes in.

For all the criticisms of Twitter as a flash-in-the-pan phenomenon, the social network and its other social media cousins, continue to be a source of ground breaking news and up-to-the-minute coverage for those tuned in around the world. Social media has cemented its place as a major channel for news coverage and subsequent debate.