10TV.com Explains 'Twitter' Phenomenon

10TV is one of dozens of local television stations across the U.S. that uses Twitter, one of the fastest growing social networking Web sites.

The site is designed for you and your friends to sign up and exchange text messages in 140 characters or less.  Instead of just being a private, two-way conversation, Twitter acts more like a social network that can plug in multiple people.

You can "follow" and "unfollow" Twitter users.  If you choose to "follow" someone, you will receive all their updates.  If a Twitter user is at an Ohio State football game, you would be able to read all of that person's updates, called tweets, and stay updated by seeing his or her observations. 

Let's say you're following someone downtown who happens to see a building being evacuated.  Assuming that person updates his or her Twitter account, you would essentially be one of the first people to know what is going on without being at the evacuation scene.

Many Twitter users send their updates through their personal computer or mobile phone.  The first image from January's U.S. Airways plane crash came from a rescuer on the Hudson River who snapped a photo, sent a message and attached a photo.  One of that person's Twitter "followers" forwarded that message to his followers, and within minutes of the photo being snapped, tens of thousands of Web users were seeing the picture.

10TV News uses Twitter in a variety of platforms.  We publish our work and find story ideas from our Twitter account, @10TV.  We affectionately call the 10TV account "The Bot," because it not only publishes our 10TV.com headlines, but also engages with our audience by answering questions, generating story ideas and responding to viewer concerns.

10TV's Kurt Ludlow, aka @KurtLudlow10TV is one of the station's Twitter champions.  Each weekday, Ludlow poses a 10TV Twitter Question of the Day.  He then reads all responses and shares some of them during 10TV News HD at 5:30 p.m.

We also have numerous other 10TV News personalities, on and off camera, who regularly use Twitter, and we are adding more.

By now, you already know that 10TV.com is full of news and information, serving as your window to central Ohio when you're not near a TV set.

Now you can follow 10TV, and our anchors and reporters, on the top social networking sites Facebook and Twitter. 

The list below details all the folks you can follow on the two sites for more behind the scenes information at Central Ohio 's News Leader.

Follow Us On Facebook:      

• 10TV News
• Doppler 10 Weather
• Wall To Wall Sports
• Buckeye Blitz: Saluting Ohio State Football
• Ohio High School Football

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WEATHER:

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10TV.com:

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