This is why I love Twitter

As I explained in a previous post, I had a very strong aversion to Twitter a few months ago, mainly because I thought there was a real lack of credibility in the information that was constantly being spewed in tweets. It took me a few weeks after signing up for an account to actually find some real value in Twitter, and since then, I've pretty much become addicted.

More and more, I see reasons why I should allow someone large and particularly cruel to kick me in the seat of my pants for not joining Twitter long before I did. Just a few moments ago, I saw this tweet from Sacramento Kings (and former Syracuse star. GO CUSE!) Donte Green:

 EARTHQUAKE!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

I checked my Twitter feed back to see if anyone else had tweeted about an earthquake. Sure enough, the ever informative Jacob Morgan tweeted out this info:

So get this: train to airport delayed due to minor earthquake, flight also delayed 30 mins.

So, within minutes of this earthquake actually happening in San Francisco, people around the world are informed about it. I know this is nothing new about Twitter, and this is certainly a small scale example of the distribution power of microblogging, but it's amazing to me that information like this now has the ability to get out long before news outlets have a chance to grab a pad and a pen. As a former journalist, I can now see why I hated Twitter so much. And as a member of human race who likes to be informed, I can now see why I'm obsessed with it.

Has there been a time in your Twitter life when you were surprised by the type of information you received and the quickness of it? I'd love to hear about it.