#standwithRand and a thought on Twitter

Last night was my first experience getting news as it happened via Twitter. Before I came to BYU, I put Twitter in the mental category of "just another social media platform." I was annoyed when my very first journalism class required me to sign up for it. I was even a little annoyed when the teacher required me to start this blog (gasp! Whaaat?), but I got over the latter pretty quickly.

It's taken far longer for me to stop seeing Twitter as annoying. Up until this year, I rarely used it, and whenever I did use it, it was only to promote articles I'd written or read and liked. That was and is still my primary purpose for logging on Twitter, but last night has given me a new perspective. And it's all thanks to Sen. Rand Paul and his millions of Twitter followers going crazy with the tweets about the filibuster Paul initiated.

Not only was I reading about news as it happened, I was reading hundreds of people's opinions about it! Newspapers can't do that; blogs can't do that efficiently; not even television news can handle that much information in an organized fashion. Twitter is truly unique, and last night's experience has cemented in my mind its usefulness as both a newsgathering tool and a news outlet.

My revelation about Twitter was almost as fascinating as the filibuster itself.

An interesting take on jailed Amish

This Associated Press story caught my eye as I was logging into my email this morning. It's a perfect example of taking a unique take on what may otherwise be just another story.

Ohio Amish face unfamiliar life in federal prison

CLEVELAND (AP) — Sixteen Amish men and women who have lived rural, self-sufficient lives surrounded by extended family and with little outside contact are facing regimented routines in a federal prison system where almost half of inmates are behind bars for drug offenses and modern conveniences such as television will be a constant temptation.
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