By following the right people you might get information faster and only the information you want. So better then the old print media?Is this the new information exchange media - or just a waste of time (search for the video of Kevin Spacey explaining twitter to David Lettermann...)
Are individuals the better reporters? Is their a need for reporters anymore? Or will they all start to tweet and you can follow those who are good?
And this all might be true if you are interested in the fact that the dog from the Taco Bell ads died...:-)
