I think that you’re right – that it’s really about adjusting to an emergent form of journalism – and when paradigms shift, as old school journalism shifts to newer schools of thought, some people may steadfastly resist the change. I wonder too, if Katharine’s friend on Facebook responded with such angry dismissiveness because of that. Change isn’t always easy. Just look at some hard facts though – how can he ignore the fact that much of today’s breaking news comes through Twitter these days?

Another more subtle experience is what Clive Thompson calls “ambient awareness” in an article on Twitter in the NYTimes:

“This is the paradox of ambient awareness. Each little update — each individual bit of social information — is insignificant on its own, even supremely mundane. But taken together, over time, the little snippets coalesce into a surprisingly sophisticated portrait of your friends’ and family members’ lives, like thousands of dots making a pointillist painting. This was never before possible, because in the real world, no friend would bother to call you up and detail the sandwiches she was eating. The ambient information becomes like a type of E.S.P.’…an invisible dimension floating over everyday life.”

and in another earlier article for Wired, I like how he sums up the aggregate effect:

“The power is in the surprising effects that come from receiving thousands of pings from your posse. And this, as it turns out, suggests where the Web is heading…”