Twitter is incredibly helpful for journalists looking for up to the minute developments while covering a beat, but the amount of information coming down a feed can be overwhelming.
Every now and then, however, someone finds a way to make it a little bit easier to follow.
Twitter user Quantian (@quantian1) published a fun list earlier this week that grabbed some attention on the social media site.
Titled “My (Finance) Twitter Has Become So Powerful: A Eigenvector Centrality Analysis of Who’s Who on #FinanceTwitter,” the scheme ranks prominent members of Twitter’s finance community.
As Quantian admits, the results are unscientific, and eigenvector centrality is not exactly a household term, but the final ranking brings together a good group of Twitter users that reporters can use for ideas and insights while covering money.
Finance Twitter Hall of Fame: @mark_dow @TheStalwart @ReformedBroker @hmeisler @CramersShirt etc (via @quantian1) https://t.co/6djDYIxOZz
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) August 10, 2015
At the top of the list, for example, is Mark Dow (@mark_dow), a hedge fund manager who makes appearances for different media outlets and writes commentary at the blog Behavioral Micro.
Joshua Brown (@ReformedBroker) is a financial advisor and author. He runs the site The Reformed Broker, where he provides insights and commentary on markets, politics, economics and more.
These are great sources that offer interesting angles as well as explanations of recent news. Following their accounts and their blogs is one of the best ways to stay informed with what’s happening in the world of money.
Other sites like to offer their own lists of must-follow Twitter accounts as well. Last year, the Wall Street Journal’s blog MoneyBeat (@WSJMoneyBeat) put out a list of accounts its writers find useful for research. Paste also has a good list of accounts that offer a number of different angles in their commentary.
Keeping up with conversations on Twitter is an important part of covering a beat in today’s newsroom. While it can be somewhat intimidating, especially for those new to different communities, it certainly pays off with a wealth of story ideas and expert insight.
