Better Real Time Election Coverage from Twitter

I recently wrote this article for Dome Magazine about my experience on primary election night, August 2, 2010.  I received quicker information about primary election results through a combination of old and new media.  When television and radio news didn't have the most up-to-date results, I turned to Twitter.

Here's the beginning of the article:

Better Real-Time Election Coverage on Twitter

Guest Column
by Sarah Hubbard
August 13, 2010
Supporters of social media have been putting traditional print reporting to shame for a few years now. The first picture of the plane that landed on the Hudson came from a bystander who posted it to Twitter. Twitter’s founders realized its potential to break news early on during a major earthquake in 2007 in Mexico. Last year, the messaging service beat mainstream news organizations to report earthquakes in the UK and China.

Beyond accidents and natural disasters, people are also using Twitter to get quicker information. The first results of many primary elections last week were posted on Twitter.

They’re also more interesting, because many of the political posts on Twitter are opinion driven. Advocacy groups such as the Detroit Regional Chamber use social media to drive public opinion of issues and to rally interested individuals to contact legislators in support of preferred policies. If you’re like me, you live a significant portion of your life, both work and play, online. Using the Internet is a daily occurrence.

Many of my friends traveled the state to attend last week’s election night celebrations, but I covered the event from my couch with the TV on, live Detroit radio streaming on my computer, making frequent checks of the Secretary of State and other websites covering returns. And, of course, my Twitter account was fully engaged.

Read the entire piece here .