Twitter partners with CNN and Dataminr to zero in on news tidbits

Social journalism has been a growing force as increased connectivity and instant sharing is adopted by larger portions of the Internet. Still, media companies rule the roost, and to make it easier for them to find the bits of news they need from across the Twitter-sphere, the microblogging website has teamed up with CNN and startup Dataminr.

Tweets have become a staple in many breaking news stories, allowing bits of information from people at the scene to fill out an otherwise short or slight news piece. By teaming up with Twitter, Dataminr will surface the tweets that contain breaking news to decrease the amount of time journalists have to spend hunting and pecking for the right details.

In this case, those journalists work for CNN, which will reap the benefits of having faster access to the tweets that matter. Dataminr developed a tool specifically for journalists, shuttling tweets off into various categories in their own feeds with notifications for related parties whenever a breaking news story happens.

Said Dataminr CEO Ted Bailey, "There is actually a very different set of algorithms that help us determine if information spreading on Twitter will move markets, as opposed to becoming a big news story. So it's not a matter of more or less data, but of how the service is focused and tuned." According to CNN, it is generating approximately two stories every day using Dataminr info.

SOURCE: The Verge