Social media sets the pace of news in our society

I never thought I would see the day when the NTSB (National Traffic Safety Board) would “Tweet” their findings as soon as discovered.

But that’s what happened this afternoon when the NTSB tweeted that the Amtrak train in last night’s derailment was going 106 mph just before heading into a curve with a 50 mph speed limit.

Sumwalt: Authorized speed in the curve was 50 mph. Speed when “engineer induced braking” was applied was 106 mph. #Amtrak

— NTSB (@NTSB) May 13, 2015

Before the NTSB began its tweeting on the derailment last night, there was the immediate reporting on the derailment from people on the train.

NBC News provided a summary of how this news broke in real time on social media.

First from Fox Rothschild Attorney Patrick Murphy.

https://twitter.com/PatrickMurphyPA/status/598298486367457280

Then from a journalist on board the train.

And then a passenger’s Instagram video from inside the train.

Following the news from passengers on social media, there was steady stream of tweets and social media video from the mainstream media who rushed to the scene of the derailment.

We no longer receive breaking news via television and radio. Rather journalists filing news reports for their newspaper, the journalists are using iPhones and social media to keep up with citizen journalists.

Obviously not as serious as a train derailment with casualties, society and the law are filled with matters which could be reported on by lawyers using social media. Reports which would be followed by a lawyer’s target audience, including reporters and niche bloggers.

Yet lawyers and law firms are slow to the punch. Those who use social media (and it’s the minority) tend to write reactionary summaries of the law. Often on word documents, edited, approved and published days later. Though published online, these summaries are nothing different than the articles and newsletters lawyers wrote 25 years ago.

Imagine news of the train derailment last night being reported in the same fashion as 25 years ago except reported on news websites as opposed to print. No one would see the news reports — unless others link to the stories via social media. The reporters filing those stories would be irrelevant, they’d be totally out of the flow of social media reports.

Social media presents lawyers a wonderful opportunity to become relevant to the people they serve. Lawyers can report on timely news and legal developments. Lawyers can jump into the flow on social media and provide value, make a name for themselves and connect with people.

Follow any breaking news development on social media. You can’t help but see the speed of news today and the opportunity that awaits you as a lawyer.

Image courtesy of Flickr by Dennis Skley