It seems Twitter was first to break the news of the earthquake in China. It is interesting the comments a BBC journalist makes on their blog about how its speed and multiple sources plus ability to link to 'citizen journalists' video and photo uploads means it could be a serious tool for news gathering.

The media need to engage with this new technology. Even the most well served news gather organisation cannot be everywhere. Eye witness reports are a valuable source of information and have a 'first person' perspective that journalists who come to the scene later will not have. They can look at other aspects and 'backfill' details as they become available.

For many in the media Twitter could become a very valuable source of 'heads up information'. As we live in a 24/365 world that few minutes will be an early warning that gives them an edge in getting to the story before their rivals for that important 'scoop'.