How do you feel about a news service on Twitter asking for donation requests?
I follow @BreakingNewsOn on Twitter. They do a great job of providing latest news and information. They have been the first to break some very big stories. I’m not sure how much I want to pay for this news service. How about you?
Latest Breaking News
Social Media is often equivalent to immediate gratification and expectations. When I subscribe to an RSS feed or to Twitter updates, I want the latest breaking news. I don’t think I’m alone.
I have been hungry for news, especially amidst the intensity of stock market crash(es) and financial crisis. On October 9, I looked at multiple news services on Twitter and was surprised at how many of news profiles had not updated frequently. One news site had not updated for 3 months!
The root word of “news” is “new” – which infers the plural of “new stuff” <personal dictionary>. So if you are going to give us new stuff, make it new. Post your stuff often.
I sent out multiple tweets (I won’t bore you with all of them); however, a few news profiles on Twitter started posting immediately – oh, the power of instant messaging on Twitter!
Okay… My final analysis was to follow @BreakingNewsOn & @NewsOnTwitter.
Donate to News Service?
Back to the donation request for news service…
How valuable is news to you?
How much are you willing to pay?
How will you evaluate the quality of the news before making a decision?
To repeat, BreakingNewsOn’s service rocks on Twitter! I’ve found it invaluable. However, I’m taken back by their donation request posted today.
BreakingNewsOn’s donation site, http://www.bnonews.com, is a dot com, not a dot org. Dot coms are normally commercial enterprises, while dot orgs are non-profit organizations. NOTE: They don’t claim to be a non-profit!
Donation requests via PayPal are common on sites that provide a valuable service, especially those who provide free WordPress plugins or blogs that share a ton of information. I have yet to see a news site request donation support, however.
News Advertising
News services often receive their funding by advertising. Tweets on Twitter are not advertising-based.
How does a news service fund themselves in Social Media and Twitter?
The ground rules for Social Media are currently being developed. What is the new News Advertising model?
To request or not to request money, that is the question.
P.S. to @BreakingNewsOn:
Please stick with one logo. As mentioned last month, the constant changing of your avatar confuses the follower and reader. Brand your news accordingly. And please do keep posting the latest breaking news!
Tags: Breaking News, Donation Requests, News, News Advertising, Social Media Advertising Model, Twitter
When I read the title of this post, I thought the twitter folks were asking for donations. I’d gladly give twitter a donation. But someone using the service? Maybe, maybe not. Sure, they may have a useful service, so maybe…but it’s less likely that I’d donate to them. Twitter, yes. Twitter user…eh. It would have to be really useful.
Microlending To Fight Poverty Lets Everyone Be Part Of Solution:
Donna, Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Also, this is a good lesson on titling a post so it’s not confusing…
Your point about usefulness is key. There are some services and bloggers who share such valuable insight that I look for a donate button. It’s hard to differentiate news services, however, when there are so many. I’d likely pay or donate for a service if the timing was such that it influenced my decision making. World news, however, is out of our circles of influence.