Welcome to Twitter World News...

Regardless of where in the world we are, the way we are getting our news is changing. Traditional news media such as television, radio and print still exist - but exist more as a means of providing more of the story, rather than as a means of breaking it.

As an example, the recent tragic bombings in Jakarta were first reported to the world via social media tool Twitter. Within seconds, tweets about the tragedy were flying through cyberspace - first hand accounts of people who were there. Photos from camera phones were already up on the Internet before most news crews even arrived on the scene.

Twitter also broke the news of the Mumbai terror attacks last year, and played a major role in spreading the news of pop star Michael Jackson's death around the world, along with fellow social networking sites Facebook and MySpace.

This changing nature of the way we receive our news has many implications. The catchphrase "News as it happens" has never been more true. We no longer need to wait for radio or television bulletins to find out the latest headlines. Even Internet based news sites, while constantly being updated, cannot match the viral power of a site like Twitter in terms of speed when breaking a story. This is because Twitter is updated by everyday people, who naturally are already everywhere while news crews can only respond after an event has occurred.

Another implication is that everyday people who break news stories via social media do so free of traditional media angles. Savvy people who are after the whole story are hence going to be more likely to increase their reliance on these alternative news services rather than take what the networks or newspapers say is gospel.

This is not to say social media cannot be and isn't abused - as anyone can post a message there is a huge risk of incorrect information, intentionally misleading messages or false rumours being circulated. It is up to everyone who uses social media to take the moral responsibility and do the right thing. At the same time we should also check the sources we read from, and consult others to ensure we are indeed getting the true and full picture.

One thing however is clear. The way we receive breaking news has forever changed, and traditional media sources have some work to do if they are to figure out how they are going to fit into this new order.