A briefing for journalists on Twitter

If you've heard a lot about Twitter but can't figure out why anyone would bother, here's a link to a recent podcast from Columbia University School of Journalism, defined as a "briefing for journalists on Twitter."

Here's their print intro to it:

The popular micro-blogging service is used by many journalists. We hear how it helped in covering the Mumbai attacks; provided a way to communicate during an LA earthquake; and even helped free an American student from an Egyptian jail.

But there's still a lot of confusion and skepticism about it among most journalists:

How can journalists use it in their day-to-day work?

What are best practices for journalists?

Whose work is worth, in Twitter terms, worth "following?"

Find answers to all of these questions via this webcast featuring several technology journalists and Twitter experts.

So again, here is the link to listen to the podcast -- it is 90 minutes or so, so you might want to download it to iTunes, put it on your iPod and take a walk while you listen.