Following the SOTU via live-tweets

Following @AlecHosterman live-tweets of the State of the Union address made for an interesting experience. Usually when watching an event of this kind such as a presidential debate or presidential speech, I watch my entire Twitter feed, receiving updates from different news networks, reporters, friends, and others, which can be highly distracting and often overwhelming. By focusing on only one Twitter feed, I was able to pay much better attention to the President’s speech.

Hosterman's Twitter feed on Tuesday night during the SOTU address

Unfortunately, I felt that Hosterman acted more as a commentator than a reporter in his live-tweeting. Instead of providing updates on the President’s address that were constructive and relevant, he stuck with adding his two-cents on the President’s remarks. Although his commentary was funny, witty, and kept me entertained, he failed to educate me on the significance of the President’s remarks. I feel that I would be unable to write an article describing the President’s State of the Union speech and it’s significance using Hosterman’s tweets. When I think of live-tweeting as a helpful way to aid in reporting, I think of it as a process of note-taking to keep track of what is happening live. However, instead of reporting through his tweets, Hosterman offered commentary.

Hosterman did a good job with the timeliness of his tweets- he did not send them too often or too little. Hosterman sent a tweet every couple of minutes during the address. He stayed consistent throughout the speech and also did a good job utilizing hashtags (such as #SOTU) to ensure that he was contributing to the nationwide conversation regarding the State of the Union on Twitter. He also did a good job at the end tweeting about the atmosphere in the room.

            

Overall, it was entertaining and fun to watch the State of the Union, and Hosterman’s tweets helped add to the dialogue surrounding the address. However, if it were me in his position, I would have tried tweeting more quotes. In addition, I would have treated the assignment as a way to prepare me to write an article about the address, taking note of topics addressed by Obama and remarkable things he said.