Posted edited to reflect a good observation by pragmacat. I didn't mean to lump all the commenters on the Tranq Jones post together as blissful optimists. Read the comments yourselves and judge which ones exude blissful optimism and consider those to be the commenters I'm referring to.
Something is happening with #bozexplod, the Twitter hashtag for following developing news about the downtown Bozeman explosion, that I’m not comfortable with.
A lot of people, including myself, have been writing about what social media did for covering the disaster yesterday. All are more or less in agreement that Twitter and Facebook served well for getting information out to more people more quickly than the television stations and newspaper could manage. I’m with them.
I believe wholeheartedly that what happened on Twitter yesterday should be analyzed and remembered. The game changed slightly, and I don’t think the online community in Bozeman will ever be the same. I also think there are lessons to be learned here for other communities and for journalists (and media outlets) around the world looking to use Twitter and other social networking sites to cover the news.
But the early bloggers – most of whom were involved actively in Twittering the events on #bozexplod yesterday, including myself – have entered into what I can describe as nothing more than a post-orgasmic period of ignorant optimism. Many bloggers – epitomized by this post by Tranq Jones and some of the commenters below it – are calling this some kind of “revolutionary” event that will forever change the face of media as we know it.
Too much too soon. It’s reactionary. The rubble is still smoldering in downtown Bozeman. It’s far too early for anyone to declare the Twitter coverage of yesterday’s explosion to be a revolution.
On top of that, a pair of the posters work at a public relations-type firm in Bozeman and are aggressively pushing their – for lack of a better term -- “branding” of the event: constantly posting links to their blog and announcing improvement to it.
Last night, they took it upon themselves to contact Jason Calcanis, Robert Scoble and Guy Kawasaki (at least) via Twitter to let those media gurus know about #bozexplod. No word that any of them responded, though Kawasaki re-tweeted something regarding the hashtag. Today, the pair are looking to send news of this little social media happening to places like Wired, and any other outlet that people suggest.
I suppose I’m worried about two things. First, I’m worried about the blissful optimism that’s surrounding this still-too-new-to-judge social media event. I’m worried that if too many people call it revolutionary too soon, Twitter as a serious tool for citizen journalism will be laughed out of the room.
Second, I’m worried about these PR guys. Yes, they have every right to do what they’re doing, but it’s almost as if they’re claiming some kind of ownership of this event and this hashtag. I suspect that when they do contact Wired and other media outlets, their PR company’s name will be featured prominently on the e-mail or PDF.
#bozexplod has mostly slowed to a crawl. The hashtag has burned itself out, just as I thought would happen when I created it at 8:30 yesterday morning. It’s served its usefulness, and now it’s time to move on. Take it as a learning opportunity, cherish the new Twitter friends you’ve made from the event, and then let it go.
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Concerns about #bozexplod and its aftermath
Posted edited to reflect a good observation by pragmacat. I didn't mean to lump all the commenters on the Tranq Jones post together as blissful optimists. Read the comments yourselves and judge which ones exude blissful optimism and consider those to be the commenters I'm referring to.
Something is happening with #bozexplod, the Twitter hashtag for following developing news about the downtown Bozeman explosion, that I’m not comfortable with.
A lot of people, including myself, have been writing about what social media did for covering the disaster yesterday. All are more or less in agreement that Twitter and Facebook served well for getting information out to more people more quickly than the television stations and newspaper could manage. I’m with them.
I believe wholeheartedly that what happened on Twitter yesterday should be analyzed and remembered. The game changed slightly, and I don’t think the online community in Bozeman will ever be the same. I also think there are lessons to be learned here for other communities and for journalists (and media outlets) around the world looking to use Twitter and other social networking sites to cover the news.
But the early bloggers – most of whom were involved actively in Twittering the events on #bozexplod yesterday, including myself – have entered into what I can describe as nothing more than a post-orgasmic period of ignorant optimism. Many bloggers – epitomized by this post by Tranq Jones and some of the commenters below it – are calling this some kind of “revolutionary” event that will forever change the face of media as we know it.
Too much too soon. It’s reactionary. The rubble is still smoldering in downtown Bozeman. It’s far too early for anyone to declare the Twitter coverage of yesterday’s explosion to be a revolution.
On top of that, a pair of the posters work at a public relations-type firm in Bozeman and are aggressively pushing their – for lack of a better term -- “branding” of the event: constantly posting links to their blog and announcing improvement to it.
Last night, they took it upon themselves to contact Jason Calcanis, Robert Scoble and Guy Kawasaki (at least) via Twitter to let those media gurus know about #bozexplod. No word that any of them responded, though Kawasaki re-tweeted something regarding the hashtag. Today, the pair are looking to send news of this little social media happening to places like Wired, and any other outlet that people suggest.
I suppose I’m worried about two things. First, I’m worried about the blissful optimism that’s surrounding this still-too-new-to-judge social media event. I’m worried that if too many people call it revolutionary too soon, Twitter as a serious tool for citizen journalism will be laughed out of the room.
Second, I’m worried about these PR guys. Yes, they have every right to do what they’re doing, but it’s almost as if they’re claiming some kind of ownership of this event and this hashtag. I suspect that when they do contact Wired and other media outlets, their PR company’s name will be featured prominently on the e-mail or PDF.
#bozexplod has mostly slowed to a crawl. The hashtag has burned itself out, just as I thought would happen when I created it at 8:30 yesterday morning. It’s served its usefulness, and now it’s time to move on. Take it as a learning opportunity, cherish the new Twitter friends you’ve made from the event, and then let it go.
Related posts: