While keeping track of those I follow on Twitter I also keep an eye on the feed from Twitscoop through my Tweetdeck. I didn't think it strange that the majority of my received tweets focused on the Victorian bushfires, after all, that was at the forefront of my mind also.
However, there's a whole world outside of Australia, so glancing at the buzz via Twitscoop lets me know what the world is tweeting about. It is a virtual collective conscience - an insight into the world's thoughts in real time.
And there it appeared as bold and large as a trend can appear ... CCTV
Of course, my mind naturally thought of "closed circuit television". Any discussion relating to Big Brother of Orwellian fame will naturally spark my interest. So I clicked and reviewed the tweets - it was a fire. Another fire! A fire in Beijing was consuming the tower that housed Central China Television and the Marriot Hotel.
Tweets told the story as people gleaned reports and forwarded links to video and pictures. A news story was unfolding before my eyes through the immediate power of Twitter. But I went to Google to seek more and it disappointed me - a couple of random news references with no detail. Twitter knew, Google failed.
Fast-forward to today and I was doing much the same, this time jokingly tweeting about the inane trends appearing on Twitscoop, primarily due to it being evening in the USA and prime time television was the priority:
The twittersphere just went freaky ... Sylar (character from Heroes) is the buzz on twittscoop *sigh*Shortly after something different caught my attention ... BENTLEY.
sad reality: judging by Twitscoop results, USA Tweeters tweet mostly about TV programs as they are watching them. it says way too much.
First it was Sylar on Heroes, then CSI Miami, and now it's the return of Deanna to The Bachelor! For Fuck's sake USA - get a life!!
Odd. I investigated - click thru, read tweets. "slow car chase in LA" was the theme, "Chris Brown" another, "2009 O.J." read yet another. I was intrigued.
Many tweeps had provided a myriad of information and links, including live footage streaming on TV news websites. Yet, nothing on Google (Epic Fail).
Here I was watching a White Bentley parked in the middle of a 3 lane road outside a car dealership, its boot popped, mirrors turned inwards. At least 10 police vehicles were placed 50m behind, several cops could be seen crouched behind cars. Media helicopters flew overhead and camera crews were on the ground nearby.
One crew had a clear view to the driver who was speaking on his mobile phone and holding a handgun. And at one stage he held the gun to his head as if to ... well the station took about 30 seconds to decide to change camera angles.
I'll let you find out what happened.
Suffice to say that the Twittersphere was ahead of the game, it was relaying news faster than Google and no doubt due to the people power involved in Twitter surpassing the software at Google. This is the future of the global news and information stream and I'm not the only one to notice.
Twitter's greatest value is not in connecting with friends (leave that to facebook) but in connecting with the collective consciousness of the people we don't know.
No comments:
Post a Comment