When I started college in 2006, the Facebook I used was really nothing more than updates (usually mindless) about the minutiae of my friends' lives. The first time I realized that social networking sites had the ability to act as traditional news sources was when Heath Ledger died.
I first learned about Ledger's death via a Facebook status. I know it was mainly because the 28-year-old was considered a heartthrob by many and was someone young Facebook users knew well. It was shocking. But the information was everywhere on the social networking site. I didn't have to read the newspaper the next day or listen to the radio, because I already knew the bare facts from reading status after Facebook status. I'm not saying the notifications were journalism-worthy, or even that well-written for that matter. But it occurred to me then that these sites could be used to transmit information quickly, tersely and emphatically.
And then came Twitter. Now users can follow newspapers, journalists and television stations, and get their news in 140 characters or less. This is ideal for a lot of people, who don't read more than a few paragraphs of newspaper stories — if they read them at all.
