--- title: "Breaking News Defends its Territory From Twitter" id: "15288" type: "post" slug: "breaking-news-defends-its-territory-from-twitter" published_at: "2013-01-10T18:52:42+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-15T19:27:07+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2013/01/10/breaking-news-defends-its-territory-from-twitter/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2013/01/10/breaking-news-defends-its-territory-from-twitter.md" excerpt: "How one breaking news service differentiated itself in the face of competition from a bigger entity. Also: LinkedIn reaches 200 million users." taxonomy_category: - "Marketing / Communications" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "Leadership" - "news verification" - "platform comparison" - "Social Media" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "C-Level" - "Executive Team" - "VP" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Breaking News Defends its Territory From Twitter Over the past few years, Twitter has become known as *the* source for breaking news, in no small part due to the work of the Twitter account @[BreakingNews (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/BreakingNews) , which is owned by NBC. > Verification and prioritization matter more than ever. That’s one reason Breaking News exists. When Twitter recently announced that it planned to compete with Breaking News, it was the startup’s well-considered response that stood out. That and more in today’s Lunchtime Links: **What makes us different:** In light of Twitter’s decision to filter breaking news on its platform using [Amazon’s Mechanical Turk service (opens in a new tab)](https://www.mturk.com/mturk/welcome) , which pays online users small fees to make quick decisions, Breaking News found itself facing newfound competition. But the multifaceted real-time news platform, which is available on Twitter, Facebook, and numerous other social networks, has a major trump card over Twitter’s planned offering: It uses actual journalists. The organization has responded [to claims that Twitter is creating the future of news (opens in a new tab)](http://readwrite.com/2013/01/08/watch-out-cnn-new-twitter-search-capabilities-will-rule-breaking-news#feed=/search?keyword=cnn) by pointing out the value that Twitter can’t offer. [In a blog post written by the company’s Cory Bergman (opens in a new tab)](http://blog.breakingnews.com/post/40116327127/why-twitters-army-of-mechanical-turks-will-not) , Breaking News explains: “In recent years, Twitter’s platform has attracted a growing wave of eyewitness news reports scattered among a firehose of other tweets. Its audience is growing, too. Verification and prioritization matter more than ever. That’s one reason Breaking News exists: We provide a verification layer over the crush of real-time reports, boiling it down to what’s true and what’s important to you.” It’s all about differentiation: How does the value you offer members set up you apart from your competition? **Engage professionally:** LinkedIn, which launched in 2003, has been around longer than nearly all of its competitors, but it took longer than other social media sites to reach its most recent milestone: 200 million members. For comparison’s sake, Twitter has more than 500 millions users (although only 200 million are active), and Facebook has twice as many members as Twitter. So, why was LinkedIn’s growth so slow, comparatively speaking? Other than being a professional network, there initially wasn’t a pressing need to maintain a LinkedIn profile, let alone use the platform regularly. However, LinkedIn’s recent redesign served one priority: exposing professional organizations. Now, LinkedIn is a space where people can connect with a company, not just people they have professional relationships with. [This post by CMSWire (opens in a new tab)](http://www.cmswire.com/cms/customer-experience/linkedin-reaches-200-million-members-infographic-019070.php) explores what sets LinkedIn apart from other social networks in terms of growth and influence. **Get serious:** According to Jeff De Cagna, FASAE, chief strategist and founder of Principled Innovation, it’s time for association leaders to tackle some challenging ideas. His post on the *Principled Innovation* blog [chronicles six ideas to get serious about in 2013 (opens in a new tab)](http://www.principledinnovation.com/blog/2013/01/03/six-serious-ideas-for-2013/) . “These are high-impact ideas for association leaders who are serious about taking their organizations to the next level,” De Cagna says in his introduction. What serious ideas are on your agenda to explore in 2013? What cool stuff have you been reading today? Let us know in the comments. (John Lund/Digital Vision/Thinkstock) [Anita Ferrer](https://associationsnow.com/author/anita-ferrer/) Anita Ferrer is a contributor to Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/anita-ferrer/) Tags: [#Leadership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/leadership/) [#news verification](https://associationsnow.com/tag/news-verification/) [#platform comparison](https://associationsnow.com/tag/platform-comparison/) [#Social Media](https://associationsnow.com/tag/social-media/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [PodcastAssociations NOW Presents: More Than Marketing: The Power of Strategic CommunicationsJuly 30, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/07/30/associations-now-presents-more-than-marketing-the-power-of-strategic-communications/) - [PodcastAssociations NOW Presents: Why Slower Marketing Can Drive Stronger Member Engagement (Episode 27)June 25, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/06/25/associations-now-presents-why-slower-marketing-can-drive-stronger-member-engagement-episode-27/) - [TemplateMembers onlyMember Onboarding ToolkitNovember 5, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/11/05/member-onboarding-toolkit/) - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond the Tech Stack: How AI Is Changing the Association PlaybookOctober 29, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/29/associations-now-presents-beyond-the-tech-stack-how-ai-is-changing-the-association-playbook/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2013%2F01%2F10%2Fbreaking-news-defends-its-territory-from-twitter%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !