Chapter 4: Microblogging: Write Small, Think Big

After bloggging, came Microblogging, a 140 word blog that allows for quick, short updates. The most popular microblogging service right now is Twitter. Facebook NewsFeed is also a form of microblogging, which allowed the website to surpass Myspace in popularity.

After the San Diego fires in 2007, Twitter really took hold as citizens were able to quickly "tweet" about road closing and other issues due to the fire. This soon promoted "impromptu journalism," and evolved into a source of breaking news journalism.

By using Microblogging as an RSS feed, website such as Twitter helps journalists understand their readers as readers can provide feedback and tweet about what interests them most. Microblogging can also give journalists leads to important stories as well.

In order to have a successful microblog, Mark Briggs of Journalism Next suggests an 80/20 rule. Microblog 80 percent of what the online reading community wants, and 20 percent of self-promoting, such as links to personal blogs or asking for help.

As Twitter is the most popular microblogging tool, it is important to learn the basics of "tweeting."

First, make sure you know what your going to do with your twitter. Having a goal helps give the microblog have a purpose.

Luckily, there are only a few Twitter terms that need to be learned:
-DM: Direct Message
-@: For a reply, it precedes your name in your reply message to a tweet
-Tweet: the equivalent to a post on regular blogs.
-RT: Retweet, reposting what someone else said.
-Hashtag: a label for a tweet that should be grouped with others tweets

Some basic rules of Tweeting, is to Post, Read, Reply, and sometimes send direct messages.

A good way to receive a following on Twitter, is to follow other's microblogs.

It's much easier than people think. Listen to your internal thoughts and comment on things in this world.

One of the best innovations is the ability to tweet from a cell phone, such as an IPhone or Blackberry.