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There has been a lot written over the past year or so about how the time is coming when social media tools like Twitter will become not just the toys of the early adopters of the tech blogosphere, but break through and become a fixture of the mainstream media. With its scaling problems seemingly behind it, Twitter may finally be ready to cross that line between the techies and the rest of the web using world.

This was especially apparent during Hurricane Gustav’s visit to the Gulf Coast and the reporting being done by CNN’s Rick Sanchez; who apparently discovered Twitter for the first time and made it an integral part of his reporting. This has gone over so well that CNN will be having a show on the weekends with Rick built around Twitter; called appropriately enough - Rick Sanchez Direct.

On the other hand, Rick’s fellow anchor Anderson Cooper; who was actually on Twitter before Rick, seems to be using it only as a way to funnel out headlines. Rick Sanchez’s involvement has been full tilt to the point that he and his producer had to get Twitter to lift the following limits for his account. In contrast Anderson is following seven people.

This isn’t the only time that the Twitterverse has seen famous people in media - both old and new - who have signed up and then proceeded to only broadcast what they were doing but then don’t follow enough people to be able to use it as a way to have conversations. There is no denying that Twitter is making some really deep inroads into mainstream media, but is that media really grasping the principal behind things like Twitter? For every person like Rick Sanchez there are a growing number that are like Anderson Cooper; and those two men are from the same news organization.

As we move forward in this new social media world and tools like Twitter become more common place in organizations like CNN one has to wonder if they really understand how these tools are meant to be used. Other than the rare person with the organizations who get it, the general idea seems to be to use these tools in the familiar broadcast style that they are use to.

One has to wonder if they really understand that people are getting tired of being broadcasted at and rather prefer for the medium to become a two way street. It only takes looking at the list compiled by GraphicDesignr.net of mainstream media organizations and journalists using Twitter at this point to see that the actual number of them actually using Twitter as a conversation tool is pretty small. The vast majority of those on the list are stuck in the broadcasting mode of using Twitter; if they have even used it beyond signing up.

So while it would seem that Twitter is all the rage right now, we really need to look a little deeper and see how it is being used. At this point in time it seems that some do really get it but for the rest it appears to be just a new way to broadcast at people. In other words - business as usual.

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