That depends on what you mean by “scoop.”

At 14:28 local time on May 12 the Sichuan, China, earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.8, was felt in Beijing, some 1,500 kilometers from the epicenter. The first report on the Twitter micro-blogging service (https://twitter.com/) came at 14:35:33, according to an analysis by Martyn Williams of the IDG News Service. A user, probably on a cell phone and limited to 140 characters, typed out the message “earthquake. not sure how big. maybe 4.5.” The message went out immediately to Twitter subscribers.

Twenty-three seconds later, at 14:35:55, Bloomberg News ran a bulletin “Earthquake Shakes Beijing Office,” and followed 22 seconds later with “Earthquake Felt In Central Beijing.” The Dow Jones Newswire ran with “Earthquake Rocks Beijing; Still Underway” at 14:36 and Reuters reported “Beijing Shaken By Earthquake, Office Buildings Sway,” at 14:37, Williams reports. At 14:39, Reuters announced “Earthquake Magnitude 7.8 Hits Eastern Sichuan Province” with information it obtained from the U.S. Geological Service, which measures seismic activity worldwide.

Twitter had beaten the newswires with the fact of the quake, but offered no substantive information. It wasn’t until 14:41 that Twitter subscribers got news on the magnitude and location of the quake.

Individual Twitter users can’t match a professional, well-connected newsroom when it comes to substantive news reporting, but a single user with firsthand knowledge of the disaster and a battery-powered cellular phone can send a news bulletin ahead of the technologically superior media wires. With the steady expansion of global cell phone distribution, sites like Twitter are emerging as an information hub for breaking news – especially that simple “i’m safe” message that gives subscribers their most important news of the day. (See “How Connected Is the World?”)

Do you use Twitter or send out broadcast SMS messages in emergencies? Send us your experiences and we will share them with your fellow readers.