Should Kobe Be Tweeting From The Sidelines? You Tell Me...

Celebrity tweets and live tweeting from big events seem to be cornerstones of the twittersphere.

But this weekend's Lakers game showed us that the two don't always mesh well.

Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, who was benched in this weekend's first playoff game due to an injured achilles, live tweeted his thoughts and reactions about the game for his fans and followers. I was pretty surprised by the reaction, and it looks like Kobe was too.  He received a lot of criticism for "attention-whoring" and for critiquing his teammates during their game.  Retweets, trending topics and most of the game's attention seemed to be focused on Kobe's Twitter remarks.  Enough so that Kobe sent out a pretty cryptic tweet on Monday that seems like he won't be live-tweeting anymore.

Like I said, I was pretty shocked by this.  I think it’s an awesome way to connect with fans.  You KNOW Kobe is dying sitting on the bench and just wishing he could play.  Why not use Twitter as a platform to get those thoughts out!? Plus, you would guess that most of his followers are his FANS.  Wouldn't you think fans would love an inside view into the mind of their future Hall of Famer!? 

Help me out here.  Am I missing something?  Do you think Kobe should stop the sideline Tweets?

Boston Manhunt Unfolds on Twitter

Everything happening in Boston is unfathomable. My heart and thoughts go out to everyone there. As I have been watching the story unfold, I can't help but be astonished by the role social media is playing in this. Even amidst the terrible events, social media's role in combining efforts, reporting up-to-date information and hopefully, now, the manhunt for the second bomber, is undeniable.

This is an obvious example of the changing face of news media. First-hand images showing up in tweets of the current manhunt or the Watertown shootings are just everywhere!  There seems to be no way that a news crew can get these kind of images. This one is from someone's home window!! The image has millions of views and retweets. Yes, I am constantly harping on the real-time news features of social media, but this brings that concept to a new and highly meaningful level.

I'm sure there will be more analysis of social media in these Boston happenings. But for now, prayers with the entire city.